Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha has scheduled a Peoples Public Session on the review of the 1999 constitution for constituents of Aboh-Mbaise/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency on November 10, 2012 at Mbutu Secondary School, Mbutu, Aboh Mbaise LGA by 10am. The Peoples’ Public Session is an initiative of the House of Representatives aimed at all-inclusive, participatory and grassroots-oriented review of the constitution which will hold same day simultaneously across the 360 Federal Constituencies of the country. The sessions will take the Constitution review process to all the nooks, crannies, villages, communities and towns throughout Nigeria. The session for Aboh-Mbaise/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency will be organized and implemented by an independent Constituency Steering Committee comprising the Deputy Speaker as facilitator, members of the State House of Assembly in the Federal Constituency, the Local Government Chairmen within the Constituency and one representative of the following organizations in each Federal Constituency: the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, and the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA. Others are the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT, Civil Society Organizations, CSOs, the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, and other Student groups, National Youth Council, NYC, and other Youth Organisations, the National Council of Women Societies, NCWS, and other women organisations, Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, and the National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE. Stakeholders, such as Ethnic Nationalities, Women, Youths, Students, Town Unions, Professional Organizations, Civil Society Organisations, Religions Organizations, Traditional Institutions, Political Parties, Artisans, Labour etc and indeed all Nigerians are qualified and free to attend the sessions to participate and air their views. Guidelines for the sessions indicate that decisions shall be reached as much as possible by consensus but where that fails, decisions will be reached by voting and the views of the majority shall prevail while voting shall be by show of hands or voice vote. Issues identified in the template for discussions include among others, recognition of the six zonal structure; issues with respect to States creation; structure, funding and creation of local governments; residency, citizenship and the indigeneship question; justiciability of economic and social rights; fiscal provisions; independence of State legislature; and amendments to the exclusive legislative list to devolve more powers to States. Others are; fiscal federalism; abolition of state electoral commissions; Immunity removal; State police; zoning and power sharing; term of office of Governors and President whether single term of 5, 6 or 7 years or a renewal term of 4 years; independent candidacy; voting age; improved women representation; disability rights; diaspora voting; single National chamber legislature; presidential or parliamentary system; role for traditional rulers and further electoral reforms The Deputy Speaker enjoins all indigenes and residents of the Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency to take full advantage of the session to ventilate their views and concerns on the ongoing review of the constitution to ensure that their inputs are adequately reflected in the document that will eventually emanate from the review process
