A two-day North-West zonal public hearing of the Senate Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution would hold in Kaduna, Wednesday under the chairmanship of Kabir Gaya, Governor Nasir El-Rufai announced in a statement on Monday.

The public hearing, hosted by Mr El-Rufai, will be held at the Hassan Katsina House, and sittings would commence at 10:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m., between May 26 and May 27, said Mr El-Rufai’s media aide Muyiwa Adekeye.

The statement added that the region would collate contributions from civil society groups, professional associations, trade unions, and others, from the North-West states (Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina).

“The public hearing will receive memoranda and contributions on 17 broad issues, including gender equity and increased participation of women and vulnerable groups in governance, the federal structure in governance and power devolution,” the statement said.

Also on the table are local government administration and local government autonomy, public revenue, fiscal federalism, and revenue allocation, constitutional provision for the establishment of state police, judicial reform, electoral reforms that will make INEC deliver transparent, credible, free, and fair elections, political parties, Independent candidature, and election management.

Similarly, deliberations would be expected on socio-economic rights as contained in Chapter II of the Constitution, residency, and indigeneship, removal of immunity in prima facie criminal cases, the timeline for the assent of bills, and passage of appropriation bills.

“The issue of Federal Capital Territory Administration, the legislature and legislative bureaucracy, constitutional roles for traditional rulers and any other issues that promote the unity and good governance of the nation will also feature in the deliberations,” it stated.

(NAN)