By Aaron Ossai
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review, Hon. Benjamin Kalu yesterday inaugurated a 9-man team of technical Consultants for the ongoing constitutional review exercise and urged them to make necessary sacrifices for the nation by helping to birth an acceptable, more people-orientated Constitution.
In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, Hon. Kalu who is also the Deputy Speaker of the House made the plea at a meeting of the review panel with the 9- man team of Consultants chosen to drive home its mandate in Abuja.
The Committee also formally inaugurated and issued appointment letters to the consultants and shared the timeline of its work plan with the consultants, urging them to study it and make their inputs where necessary.
It will be recalled that the Constitutional Review Committee recently unveiled the action plan, targeting December 2025 as the period to conclude its assignment.
Members of the team included Mamman Mike Osuman, SAN; Professor Nuhu Mohammed Jamo; Chief Chris Uche, SAN; Mr. Seni Adio, SAN; Hon. Samson Osagie; Barr Clement Nwankwo; Prof. Ezeilo Joy and Prof. Ladi Hammalia.
The Committee also named Nwankwo the Coordinating Consultant of the team.
The team is mandated to develop a reasonable time bound work-plan for the Committee’s activities in liaison with the Committee Secretariat; advise the Committee on the methodology to adopt in carrying out consultations with stakeholders and interest groups and sieve out germane issues that may arise there from.
It is also mandated to develop reliable and appropriate data collection techniques for adoption by the Committee; collate, study, analyze and asses all memoranda received from the public to bring out the issues raised in a structured manner and where applicable draft constitution amendment bills for the Committee’s consideration; analyze and present the data collected in a simple, concise and organized manner for the Committee’s deliberations among others.
The Deputy Speaker had charged the consultants to write their names in the annals of history by making necessary sacrifices for the advancement of democracy in Nigeria.
“Today marks a major milestone in the work plan of the Committee with the composition of a Technical Team.
In order to pass the Constitution amendments in record time, I am pleased to announce to you that a 9-man technical team of consultants has been appointed to provide expert input and insights to the Committee’s work.
It is pertinent to note that the selection of the technical team was purely based on merit, expertise and personal capacity.
“You are also enjoined to consider this assignment as a call to duty and your contribution to national development.
“Like I said when I stated that it is not a commercial outing for the consultants because we know we may not be able to afford to pay for your services knowing your status in the society in the work that you do and how well or highly rated that you are”, he added.
