The Senate President, David Mark, this morning in Lagos, assured Nigerians that the National Assembly had
no hidden agenda in the on-going 1999 constitution review sessions.
Senator Mark declared at the opening of the senate constitution review session for the South-West zone, at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja. He spoke as the exercise by the senate kicked off in all the six geo-political zones of the country. “The senate will consider every view presented at the sessions in the amendment of the constitution, Mark said. “There are so many arguments and we may not take them all in one single sweep.
“The amendment is a continuous exercise; the National Assembly will revisit the constitution as often as possible when necessary.” Mark urged the participants to make security and development issues their priority during the deliberations. “Any amendment that will improve security and bring development closer to the people should be top priority.”
The senate president pointed out that requests for Lagos to be granted a special status was not a decision for him alone to take. “What matters most is that we need to make our presentations from a patriotic point of view.”
According to him, the essence of the sessions is to get Nigerians to participate fully in the amendment so that the National Assembly can take out the “military”, for a people’s constitution. In his keynote address, Gov. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) of Lagos State, sought a special status for the state because of its strategic importance to the nation. “If Lagos does not prosper, prosperity will be difficult for other parts of Nigeria,” Fashola said. He also advocated that states should have their own police and be allowed a total control, management and creation of local government areas. Fashola, however, noted that the constitution itself was not an end, but a means to an end. “What Nigerians really want is not just a better document but a better life.”
Earlier in his welcome address, Sen. Ganiyu Solomon, Chairman, Senate Committee Session, South-West, representing Lagos-West Zone, said that the senate had no pre-determined agenda. “We will apply ourselves to the agenda you have set for us.
“The senate will not be distracted or intimidated by propaganda because no one person or group is greater than Nigeria.” issues on the agenda for the review session include devolution of powers, creation of state police, role of traditional rulers in the constitution, revenue allocation, special status for Lagos and mayorial status for Abuja.
Present at the event were the Oba Of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu; Sen. Oluremi Tinubu; Sen. Albert Adewale, Sen. Adegbenga Kaka and Sen. Gbenga Ashafa. Senators Sola Adeyeye, Boluwaji Kunlere and Olufemi Lanlehin were also in attendance.