President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, yesterday, constituted a 56-member Constitution Review Committee to handle all bills seeking one alteration or the other in the 1999 Constitution.
The committee consists of eight principal officers who will serve as steering committee heads within the larger committee, a senator from each of the 36 states and two senators from each of the six geo-political zones.
The announcement of Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as chairman of the committee and presiding for the first time since inauguration efffectively laid to rest rumour of rift between him and Lawan.
For several months, there have been speculations of a friction between the duo as many wondered why the Delta-Senator had not been allowed to preside over plenary sessions.
Names of members committee include the Senate Leader, Abdullahi Yahaya, Deputy Senate Leader, Prof. Robert Ajayi Boroffice, Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Bwacha , Minority Whip, Philip Tanimu Aduda, Deputy Minority Whip, Sahabi Alhaji Yau and former deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu.
However, Ifeanyi Uba (YPP Anambra South) has kicked against his exclusion from the committee, alleging that the whole members were drawn from the APC and PDP, which he said was unfair .
But the Senate President in his response, said the composition was not based on party but on states and zonal basis.
“This composition is not about party affiliation but of equal representation from states and geopolitical zones, since the assignment before the committee is for the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians devoid of partisanship.”
He admonished the committee members to be patriotic in their conducts and activities, saying, “what is expected of you is to give Nigerians constitution that will enhance stability, unity and enabling environment that will afford every Nigerian to actualise his or her dreams without let or hindrance.”
He, therefore, called on all Nigerians seeking alteration in any of the provisions of the 1999 constitution to submit their memoranda to the committee.
