The House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review has fixed Wednesday, July 23 to meet with the Nigerian Governors Forum to present bills currently under
consideration for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution.
The Committee, chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, will also meet with the Speakers of the 36 State Houses of Assembly in a joint retreat with the Senate Constitution Review Panel to harmonise bills drafted for the constitution review exercise.
Similarly, the Kalu-led committee will engage media executives, including the Guild of Editors, Nigerian Union of Journalists, civil society organisations and the diplomatic community, amongst others, to facilitate public discussions and education on constitutional issues, promoting transparency and accountability in the review process.
The meetings are a part of the Committee’s efforts to ensure the successful passage of key bills in the review by December 2025.
The Deputy Speaker disclosed this on Thursday while unveiling a detailed timeline of activities at a meeting of the Committee in Abuja.
He said, “We urge members to work assiduously to ensure that the current bills before the Committee are passed by December 2025, while also considering the possibility of a second round of amendments, as new bills are still being sponsored by members.
“Steady progress is being made on our work plan implementation and our targets are achievable. However, some crucial activities ought to be accomplished within the given timeframe.
“The second meeting/engagement with the Nigerian Governors Forum is expected to be held on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, to present to them the bills currently under consideration as requested during the previous engagement, seek their support on the proposed amendments, secure buy-in and backing for the passage of contentious bills.
“Joint retreat of Senate and House Constitution Review members with Speakers/Clerks of the 36 State Houses of Assembly to harmonize bills will be held Thursday, 25 to Sunday 28 September 2025.
READ ALSO: Senate panel hails establishment of new universities
“There will be a Constitution Review Committee Diplomatic Dinner (June 20, 2025) to seek support and collaboration from the diplomatic community on some specific thematic areas like gender, security architecture and state policing to promote global best practices.
“There will also be an engagement with civil society organisations, and community-based organisations as part of National Assembly Open Week which will be held on Thursday, July 3, 2025, at the National Assembly Complex.
“The engagement will bring expertise and alternative perspectives to the constitutional review process, helping to shape our legislative decisions by highlighting deficiencies and proposing further debates.
“It will also promote transparency, accountability and inclusivity in the processes, by ensuring that all stakeholders are informed and engaged.”
According to Kalu, “Engagement with media executives will be held from July 8-9, 2025 in Abuja to facilitate public discussions, debates, and education on constitutional issues, helping to build consensus and foster a sense of ownership among citizens.
“The media can play a vital role in ensuring the constitution review process is inclusive, transparent, and the public is well-informed”.
Kalu also gave a timeline of the anticipated public and national hearings on the bills as well as a meeting with the 18 registered political parties in the country, saying that the idea is to ultimately aggregate the views of Nigerians.
“As discussed in our previous meetings, the Committee is poised to subject the 87 prioritised bills that have passed second reading to public hearings in each of the six geopolitical zones. Zonal Chairmen and their Deputies are expected to liaise with States under their jurisdictions to ensure active participation in their respective zones.
“The hearings will be held as follows: Northern geo-political zones – Friday 11 to Sunday 13, July 2025; Southern geo-political zones – Friday 18 to 20 July 2025. National Public Hearing – Monday 21 July 2025; engagement with the political parties (18 registered political parties’ leadership) is expected to be held on Monday 14 July 2025 in Abuja”, he added.
Kalu further added that the House will hold a one-week plenary debate on the bills, while voting on them is expected to be held on October 14, 2025, just as the transmission of the bills to the State Assembly is also expected to be held on October 30, 2025.