As constitution review committees from both chambers of the National Assembly are getting set for harmonisation of requests from various interest groups across the federation, power devolution in various forms are dominating the requests.
Specifically, out of about 100 memoranda already submitted to the Senate Committee as at Friday last week, state police creation featured in most of them aside other power devolutions from the federal government to the state like moving Mines and Minerals on item 39, formation, annulment and dissolution of marriages on item 61 etc, from the exclusive list to the concurrent list.
As varied as requests of the various interests groups are, assurance was on Sunday given by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, Ovie Omo-Agege, that all the requests would be allowed to pass through the required legislative scrutiny.
According to Omo-Agege who made the declaration while featuring in a current affairs programme on TVC (The Platform), anchored by Sam Omatseye, “All the memoranda and bills made available to the committee would be diligently considered and processed.”
He said members of the committee are not under pressure from any group as regards approval of their request as according to him, it is the Senate in plenary that will eventually decide any of the requests that will see the light of the day.
He stressed the need for Nigerians to take advantage of the window given by the committee for call for memoranda to submit their proposals on any of the 13 thematic areas to the panel.
His words: “Any Nigerian who feels strongly about any issue that ought to be addressed in this exercise, has a right within the time stipulated to put their thoughts in writing by way of a memo and submit same to us.”
“This committee will try not to kill any bill. We will rather have all bills go to the floor at plenary and let the Nigerian people, speaking through their elected representatives, make the call as to whether or not those bills should pass,” he said.
