Senate President David Mark has held discussions with members of the Cameroonian parliament on the protection of rights of Nigerians in the Bakassi Peninsula. Speaking to newsmen in Quebec, Canada yesterday, Mark said he is re-opening talks with the parliament of Cameroon on how to resolve the outstanding issues in the conflict between the two countries over Bakassi.
"There is a judicial verdict on Bakassi and because of that we have to be very careful in whatever we do but we are discussing with our colleagues from Cameroon on the issue of human rights abuses in the Bakassi peninsula," Mark said.
The Senate president also said the proposed amendments to the 1999 constitution by the National Assembly will resolve the issue of indigent/settler in Nigeria.
Mark assured the global community of Nigeria's readiness to remove indigene ship from the constitution in an effort to protect the interests of minority groups in the country.
Speaking on the theme of the conference tagged "Citizenship, Identity, Cultural and Linguistic Identity in a Globalised World," Mark informed the gathering that "We are working to remove all obstacles that hinder unity and harmonious coexistence. At the moment, efforts are on course at the National Assembly to further amend the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Cardinal among the issues on the agenda is to revisit some constitutional provisions which seem to contradict one another and the spirit of the constitution on the rights and privileges of Nigerians."
Meanwhile the House of Representatives said it would hold constitution amendment sessions in all the 360 federal constituencies in the country to elicit inputs from the people.
Speaking on the constitution review exercise, Deputy Speaker of the House, Emeka Ihedioha said the present process would be all inclusive as all Nigerians will have opportunity to participate.
He said "For the first time, we are directly taking the constitution amendment to the doorsteps of the Nigerian people, going beyond the usual zonal hearings that gets hijacked by a self-same elite endowed with the means to manipulate public opinion. The sessions will be no-holds barred, non-partisan and broad-based as the National Assembly will not impose a ceiling on the range of amendments sought by Nigerians."
Ihedioha enjoined Nigerians at the grassroots to seize the opportunity of the consultative sessions which will be held simultaneously in all 360 federal constituencies on November 10 to make the constitution a truly peoples' document.
Daily Trust