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Rep. Benjamin Kalu explained that the appointment of the consultants was to facilitate the early passage of the constitutional amendment.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday appointed a 9-man technical team of consultants to assist her in the ongoing process of constitution amendment.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu at a maiden meeting with the consultants at the National Assembly reaffirmed its earlier commitment to complete its work by 2025.
They are Mr Mamman Mike Osuman, SAN; Professor Nuhu Mohammed Jamo; Chief Chris Uche, SAN; Mr Seni Adio, SAN; Hon. Samson Osagie; Prof. Ezeilo Joy; Prof. Ladi Hammalai; and, Barr. Clement Nwankwo who serves as the coordinating consultant.
In his opening remarks, Rep. Kalu explained that the appointment of the consultants was to facilitate the early passage of the constitution amendment.
He said “In order to pass the Constitution amendments in record time, I am pleased to announce to you that a 9-man technical team of consultants has been appointed to provide expert input and insights to the Committee’s work. It is pertinent to note that the selection of the technical team was purely based on merit, expertise and personal capacity.
“The team is vested with the following mandate: Develop a reasonable time-bound work plan for the Committee’s activities in liaison with the Committee Secretariat; Advise the Committee on the methodology to adopt in carrying out consultations with stakeholders and interest groups and sieve out germane issues that may arise therefrom; Develop reliable and appropriate data collection techniques for adoption by the Committee.
“Collate, study, analyze and assess all memoranda received from the public to bring out the issues raised in a structured manner and where applicable draft constitution amendment bills for the Committee’s consideration.
“Analyse and present the data collected in a simple, concise and organized manner for the Committee’s deliberations and consideration to assist in ultimately taking critical and informed decisions.
“Research bills/measures and policies referred to the Committee and advise on their viability and likely consequences on proposed constitutional alterations.
“Advise the Committee to arrive at decisions that are fair to all and under the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy”.
The Deputy Speaker also informed that the Committee has adopted a timeline of twenty-four months, terminating in December 2025 to conclude its assignment as contained in the work plan and charged the consultants to consider the assignment as a call to duty and their contribution to national development.
STAR Check: Nigerians, particularly, constituents of Abia state, can keep tabs on the legislative performance of Rep. Kalu throughout the 10th House here.
