ACF to present position of Northern Nigeria on Constitution Review
*Toes same line with De Renaissance Patriots, Lagos, which says residency can’t replace indigeneship
By KEMI KASUMU
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), a prominent political and cultural association representing northern Nigeria, and 16 other groups are collaborating to submit a unified Memorandum to the National Assembly’s Constitution Review Committee, which will make known the position of Northern Nigeria in the review.
The DEFENDER reports that this joint effort aims to advocate for the interests of the North in the ongoing constitutional review process.
The ACF-led Northern moves were coming five days after De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, a socio-cultural organisation established by prominent Lagos State indigenes to lead a better state forbtheir fellow indigenous people, announced that it had submitted its own memorandum to the Constitution Review Committee.
The release dated 17th april 2024 was jointly signed by 14 members of its steering committee including Prof. Ilyas Adele Jinadu, Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (Rtd), Major General Leo Ajiborisha (Rtd), Justice Solomon Olusola Hunponu-Wusu (Rtd), Dr. Wasiu Tiwalade Odofin, Alhaji Akin Martins, Mr Gbadebo Dallas and Prince Adelani Adeniji-Adele.
The group of Lagos natives had demanded in the memorandum that the National Assembly should amend the Constitution “to protect the rights of indigenous peoples to strengthen and maintain their spiritual relationship with their traditionally owned or otherwise occupied and used lands, territories, waters, and coastal seas and other resources and to uphold their responsibilities to future generations in this regard.”
Arewa Consultative Forum
The 10th National Assembly has initiated the sixth round of amendments to the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio formed a 45-member committee for the Senate’s Constitution Review, chaired by Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau.
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Similarly, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas inaugurated a 43-member Committee on Constitution Review in the House of Representatives.
Both committees have called for submissions of memoranda or proposals for further amendments covering various thematic areas. These include the Nigeria Police Force, fiscal federalism, judicial, electoral reforms and Residency and Indigeneship.
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In collaboration with diverse interest groups from Northern Nigeria, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) established a high-level committee comprising technocrats, bureaucrats, traditional rulers, academics, security experts and other professionals to bring up the position of Northern Nigeria on the subject matter.
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The committee has been charged with duty within specified terms of reference to produce a memorandum representing the region’s interests for submission to the Constitution Review Committee.
Following the submission’s draft, the ACF and 16 other northern groups convened a stakeholders’ meeting in Kaduna to review and validate the draft position before it was submitted to the National Assembly Committee.
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The technical committee conducted a comprehensive review covering federal structure, power devolution, state creation, local government system, revenue allocation, security architecture, state police, judicial and electoral reforms, and other pertinent issues.
The draft submission includes recommendations on security agencies’ roles in elections, socio-economic and cultural rights, traditional institutions, gender issues, and indigene and residency matters.
ACF’s Secretary-General, Malam Murtala Aliyu, affirmed that the finalised memorandum would be forwarded to the 10th Assembly Committee on Constitution Review.
He emphasised that all the 17 groups would collectively engage with the parliamentary committee to defend the submissions during public hearings.
The 16 other groups collaborating with ACF encompass a wide spectrum of organizations representing various interests within the northern region, including cultural, political, and professional associations.
