Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna state has noted that the quality of the 1999 Constitution, which is undergoing amendment, “depends on the ongoing public hearings where citizens will be making inputs.”
The governor disclosed this Friday in Kaduna when members of the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Amendment paid a courtesy call at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, ahead of the public hearing which would be held Saturday.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, the governor commended the committee for taking the important assignment of constitution amendment out of Abuja to the zones, thereby bringing the process closer to the people.
“This is democracy in action; broadening participation, encouraging robust conversation and ensuring that diverse perspectives and voices across the country are heard and reflected on the national framework,” she said.
The deputy governor urged civil society organisations, professional bodies, including women and youth groups as well as traditional and religious organisations, to participate at the public hearing which will be held at Hassan Usman Katsina House, Kawo.
Balarabe maintained that the people of Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states should “take advantage of the proximity and openness of this zonal seating.”
“This is indeed an opportunity to make our positions known constructively, boldly and patriotically. The quality of the constitution depends on the input that we bring into this process. Let us not sit on the sidelines; let us be heard,” she said.
Balarabe expressed delight that the committee had identified the “weak participation of women in politics as something worth addressing.”
“I am therefore in support of the constitution amendment that will grant women a special quota in elected and appointive positions in government,” she said.
According to her, it is not healthy to exclude the ideas and experiences of half of the nation’s population in decision making, adding that Nigeria has been losing the contributions of women’s participation for so long because they were excluded from the political arena.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation, Hon. Aliyu Sani Madaki, thanked Kaduna state government for accepting to host the public hearing, adding that the committee “is here to listen. We don’t have any opinion; the opinion of the people is our opinion.”