Governor Simon Lalong, (middle), the Deputy Governor, Professor Tyoden and Senator Abdullahi Adamu (left) at the public hearing on 1999 Constitution on Wednesday 26th May.
By Marie-Therese Nanlong
Jos – State Police, devolution of power, active inclusion of traditional institution in governance, judicial review, prohibition of open grazing, autonomy of local government among others were the dominant demands made at ongoing public hearing on the review of the 1999 constitution.
Groups from three North Central states of Plateau, Benue and Nasarawa gathered in Jos to present their positions as the Senate of the federal Republic of Nigeria takes step to review the constitution.
The Chairman of the event, Senator Abdullahi Adamu from Nasarawa State who represented the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege intimated the people that the zonal hearings are coming ahead of the national public hearing because “The Senate decided to adopt a bottom-top approach by first listening to Nigerians at the geo-political level.”
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He stressed the approach was adopted because of the importance the constitution review committee places on the process and called on Nigerians to give their support because, “You are the pillar on which the committee’s work is to be anchored. Together, we can bequeath our nation with a people-centered constitution.”
A cross section of participants at public hearing of the 1999 Constitution in Plateau State.
The Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong who declared the event open called for active participation of citizens to make the exercise a success.
According to him, “…While several attempts have been made in the past to alter the Constitution in line with the yearnings of the people, not much seems to have been achieved despite the resources spent and time devoted.
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“We hope that this particular exercise will not go the way of previous ones which failed to address some key issues affecting the governance of the nation and in some way even threatening the peace, security and unity of the country.
“While it is not proper to blame all the challenges of the country on the Constitution, it is however important that concerns raised about the current constitution are addressed. This is even more so when the clamour has persisted and rather than abate, are getting louder. This perhaps is the time to try something different.
Speaking further, the Governor added, “as a Government, we have canvassed for policing that is grassroots-oriented which we believe will better address the current insecurity in the country. That is why we have embraced Community Policing which is a precursor to State Police.”
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The Chairman of the State Traditional Council and Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Buba said the history of each ethnic nationality should not be overlooked.
His words, “Who are we? The constitution must address the question. The different ethnic groups were in existence before Nigeria, that aspect of history should not be thrown away because if you don’t know where we are coming from, you won’t know where you are going to. Every land in Nigeria belongs to a community, a people…”
It was gathered that so far, over 200 memos have been submitted by the different groups across the three States.
