Northern Groups Collaborate on Constitution Amendment Proposal

• The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and 16 other regional groups are collaborating to advocate for Northern interests in constitutional review
• A high-level committee comprising technocrats, traditional rulers, and other professionals aims to produce a memorandum representing Northern interests

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), a prominent political and cultural association representing northern Nigeria, is teaming up with 16 other regional groups to craft a unified submission to the National Assembly’s Constitution Amendment Committee. This joint effort aims to advocate for the interests of the North in the ongoing constitutional review process.

The 10th National Assembly has initiated the sixth round of amendments to the 1999 Nigerian Constitution. Senate President Godswill Akpabio formed a 45-member committee for the Senate’s Constitution Review, chaired by Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau. Similarly, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas inaugurated a 43-member Committee on Constitution Review in the House of Representatives.

Both committees have called for submissions of memoranda or proposals for further amendments covering various thematic areas. These include the Nigeria Police Force, fiscal federalism, and judicial and electoral reforms.

In collaboration with diverse interest groups from northern Nigeria, the ACF has established a high-level committee comprising technocrats, bureaucrats, traditional rulers, academics, security experts, and other professionals. This committee aims to produce a memorandum representing the region’s interests for submission to the Constitution Review Committee.

Following the submission’s draft, the ACF and 16 other northern groups convened a stakeholders’ meeting in Kaduna to review and validate the draft position before it was submitted to the National Assembly Committee.

The technical committee conducted a comprehensive review covering federal structure, power devolution, state creation, local government system, revenue allocation, security architecture, state police, judicial and electoral reforms, and other pertinent issues.

The draft submission includes recommendations on security agencies’ roles in elections, socio-economic and cultural rights, traditional institutions, gender issues, and indigene and residency matters.

ACF’s Secretary-General, Malam Murtala Aliyu, affirmed that the finalized memoranda would be forwarded to the 10th Assembly Committee on Constitution Amendment. He emphasized that all 17 groups would collectively engage with the parliamentary committee to defend the submissions during public hearings.

The 16 other groups collaborating with ACF encompass a wide spectrum of organizations representing various interests within the northern region, including cultural, political, and professional associations.