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Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed with members of the Committee
By Akanji Alowolodu, Bauchi
As public hearing on the review of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended begins nationwide, Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir has picked holes in the provisions of the Constitution which he said must be addressed if it will be a workable document.
Bala Mohammed also advocated for a redress in the provisions of the Constitution in order to accommodate areas that would promote national security and peaceful coexistence.
The Governor made the submission while receiving members of the Senate Committee for zonal public hearing on the review of the Constitution taking place in Bauchi at the Executive Chamber of the government house on Tuesday.
Bala Mohammed also said that there are a lot of inadequacies in the constitution particularly in the areas of revenue allocation, security provision and inclusiveness in running the affairs of the country, expressing hope that the move to review the constitution would provide the needed change for the betterment of the country.
According to him, the North-Eastern part of the country as the most devastated by the activities of insurgents and educationally disadvantaged was shortchanged in the Constitution, hence the need for the review.
Bala Mohammed who said that the state government has prepared memoranda to be presented before the Committee during public hearing expressed concern on how the state was left with only 20 local governments despite its large size and growing population.
Speaking Earlier, Chairman of the Committee and the Senator representing Borno North in the Senate, Abubakar Kyari noted that the members of the Committee were in the state to get the opinions of citizens from North-Eastern part of the country as part of the process of the Constitution review.
Abubakar Kyari highlighted areas that needed attention to include defence and security, Land use act, states and local governments creation, roles of traditional institutions, autonomy of judiciary, legislature and Local Governments as well as derivation.
He therefore called for the support and cooperation of the state government and relevant stakeholders towards the success of the exercise.
The Committee appealed to people of the three states to make presentations on issues that are peculiar to each of them that needed to be included in the new constitution assuring that the Committee will be fair and just to all.
