The Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, has assured that the National Assembly joint committees on Constitution Review would transmit the final draft to the state Houses of Assembly before the end of year 2025.

Barau who is Chairman, Senate Committee on Constitution amendment disclosed this on Monday at a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Constitution Review with the Conference of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly.

The lawmaker said the committee is now consolidating decisions and clearing the last procedural hurdles required before forwarding the documents to the states.

The meeting, held at the Abuja Continental Hotel, brought together key stakeholders whose approval is essential to completing the constitution alteration process.

Barau said the committee had already concluded major deliberations at a previous sitting in Lagos, where members debated the proposed constitutional amendment bills and mandated sub-committees to undertake further legislative refinement.

He noted that Monday’s session was designed not to reopen settled issues but to validate prior decisions, receive the sub-committees’ reports, and conclude work on outstanding matters, including proposals for the creation of new states and local governments.

“This meeting will be less deliberative except where there is a substantive motion to reconsider an issue already concluded. Our purpose today is to approve positions reached previously and to receive reports from the sub-committees constituted to take further legislative actions on some of the bills,” he added.

Barau stressed that the involvement of state legislatures remained central to the success of the amendment exercise, as the Constitution mandates approval by at least 24 state assemblies before any alteration can take effect.

He explained that the engagement with the Speakers was to ensure they were fully aligned with the issues distilled from nationwide public hearings, zonal consultations and state-level submissions.

The Deputy Senate President urged stakeholders to maintain their commitment as the committee pushes to meet its end-of-year timeline.

“I encourage you to remain committed as always in this last lap of this assignment, to ensure we fulfil our promise to Nigerians that the bills will be transmitted to the state houses of assembly this year,” he said. (DAILY TRUST)

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