Constitution amendment: Speakers endorse state creation, power shift

Taiwo Adisa, Abuja - 01.11.2009

The Conference of Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly has endorsed the need for state creation and power shift at all levels of government through the ongoing efforts at amending the 1999 Constitution.

Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly, Honourable Clarence Olafemi, who made the disclosure while speaking at a Constituency outreach programme put together by Senator Smart Adeyemi for constituents of Kogi West Senatorial District, said that the conference, which met in Abuja last week, had agreed on some critical areas that were in need of amendment in the 1999 Constitution.

According to the Speaker, the Conference of 36 State speakers has agreed that there was the need to enshrine power rotation in the constitution, while state creation should also be actualized.

He said:”At the Conference of 36 State Speakers, we have agreed to support the creation of more states and that even if the states cannot go round, we should still support it. We also support the rotation of power at all levels.

“We tried to be careful with revenue sharing formula and we decided that whatever is agreed to by the National assembly, we will concur, because it is a very delicate issue.

“We need a very strong legislature, state and National Assembly because it is very central to the survival of our democracy.”

The constituency outreach programme was also an occasion for Senator Smart Adeyemi to render account of his stewardship to the people as well as an avenue for the constituents to make inputs to the ongoing constitution amendment process.

The Speaker told the constituents that they should feel free to submit memoranda on areas that need amendment in the constitution to Senator Adeyemi, since he doubles as their representative and the member representing the state in the Constitution Amendment Committee.

Senator Adeyemi also told his constituents that he had attracted projects worth about N500 million to the constituency, while he also commissioned some taxi cabs and motorcycles for use of indigenes of the constituency.

He cautioned Nigerians against frequently changing their representatives, adding that in a horse race, nobody changes a winning horse with a donkey.
The event, which witnessed the presentation of more than 100 memoranda on aspects of 1999 Constitution, was attended by political bigwigs in the constituency including, Senator Tunde Ogbeha, General David Jemibewon, state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Hassan Salau, a chieftain of the Action Congress, who served as Deputy Chief of Staff to vice President Atiku Abubakar, Prince Olushola Akanmode, a member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Dino Melaye and former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in the state, Mrs. Funmi Abiodun, among others.