National Assembly Begins Debate on Constitutional Amendments to Create 55 New States, 278 Local Governments

This was disclosed in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by Ismail Mudashir, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau I. Jibrin.

According to the statement, Senator Jibrin, who serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, made the remarks at the opening of a two-day joint retreat of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on the Review of the 1999 Constitution in Lagos.

Jibrin reaffirmed the National Assembly’s commitment to delivering “people-centred and timely” constitutional amendments, urging lawmakers to ensure that the first batch of proposals is transmitted to state Houses of Assembly before the end of the year.

“It has been a long journey to bring the Senate and the House of Representatives’ Constitution Amendment proposals that cut across several sections and deal with different subject matters,” he said.

“We have been in this process for the past two years, engaging our constituents, critical stakeholders, institutions, civil society organizations, and interest groups through town hall meetings, interactive sessions, and public hearings—harvesting and synthesizing views and perspectives that have culminated in what we have here today: 69 bills, 55 state creation requests, two boundary adjustments, and 278 local government creation requests.”

He noted that lawmakers are expected to deliberate on the proposals and make recommendations to both chambers, expressing optimism that significant progress could be achieved within the two-day session.

“It is not going to be a simple task to achieve within two days, but I believe we can do it, especially as we have promised Nigerians that we will deliver the first set of amendments to the State Houses of Assembly before the end of this year,” Jibrin added.

The Deputy Senate President further called for unity and patriotism throughout the review process, urging participants to avoid divisive tendencies and ensure that the amendments reflect the collective aspirations of Nigerians.