By Comfort Olayinka
The House ad hoc committee on 1999 Constitution review has begun the exercise in Calabar, the Cross River State capital in furtherance of the resolution of the House of Representatives.
You may note that the South South zone are are to hold in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital comprising of Edo, Delta and Bayelsa states while zone A comprising of Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States converged on Calabar.
Shortly on arrival at the state capital, leader of the review committee and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Kingsley Chinda, member representing Obio/Akpor federal constituency led the Constitution amendment committee to a courtesy call on the Obong of Calabar, his eminence, Edidem Expo Okon Abasi Otu V where the facts of the exercise were canvassed as his eminence enjoined the committee to do justice to the aspirations of Nigerians while committing to mobilising his subjects to make representations to the committee.
The Committee shortly afterward proceeded to the cross river State government house on courtesy call still in advert of the Constitution review mandate.
Receiving the House delegation, the deputy governor Rt. Hon. Peter Odey canvassed support for the exercise but expressed concern on several limitations of state government particularly as it concerns authority to extract minerals which currently is within the exclusive preserve of the federal government. According to the deputy governor such vice grip disables states from mining right which clog development and grassroot growth among others.
Nigerians who swarmed the review centre made varied requests, presentations and submitted memos ranging from states creation, local council creation, non- local government creation, non states creation, severance from current states and inclusion in anticipated states in the event of their creations exclusion from anticipated states and local governments, unification with kith and kin in existing states to mention but a few. From the delineation, only citizens from Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross river states were assigned to submit memos to the committee. States creation request that featured include Bori state, Ogoja state, Atlantic state while local governments creation featured request from Etung local government council in cross river to be severed into three, Odukpani local council also desirous of a split into three just like Akpabuyo local government of cross river state sought for two more local government in addition to the existing one. The Igede people from Benue state who occupy the present Obi/ Oju local governments in Benue state sought to be re-integrated with their kith and kin in Cross River State,the Abii, and Yakur and in the event of creation of Ogoja state, be domiciled in the new state. Meanwhile the people of eastern Obollo were at loggerheads over creation of Obollo state but submitted memo all the same.
One common feature of the requests was asserting the viability of the anticipated states ranging from big population data, requisite landmass, abundant human and mineral resources, common history e.t.c
Whereas different women groups canvassed for special seats for women NGOs called for amendments of the Constitution to unbundle the Independent electoral Commission (Inec) exhustion of litigation before swearing-in, creation of election tribunal for local government elections among other electoral reforms as well as creation of office of the auditor- general at the local government councils in the federation as well as the areas councils of the federal capital territory, Abuja. Labour unions and Nigeria Union of Teachers( NUT) sought to be retained in the exclusive list while customary and magistrate workers sought to be included within the meaning, context and interpretation of judicial office workers/ personnel.
