... National Assembly awaits reports on creation of new states, LGAs
ABUJA, NIGERIA- The iNews Times | The National Assembly has failed to meet its December 2025 target for completing the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution, raising concerns over its ability to conclude the exercise before campaign activities begin ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The House of Representatives had earlier fixed December 9 and 10 for voting on the constitution alteration bills, after which the approved measures were to be transmitted to state Houses of Assembly for concurrence and subsequently forwarded to the President for assent. However, the planned voting was abruptly suspended, with no new date announced before the National Assembly adjourned for the Christmas recess, to reconvene on January 27, 2026.
The delay is linked to the legislature’s wait for reports from the various zonal caucuses on proposals for the creation of additional states across the six geo-political zones. A total of 53 requests for new states are under consideration, comprising eight from the North East, 10 from the North West, 12 from the North Central, seven each from the South East and South South, and nine from the South West.
In addition, the zonal caucuses are expected to submit recommendations to the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review on proposals for the creation of at least 278 new local government areas across the 36 states as part of the constitutional amendment process.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and co-chairman of the National Assembly Special Committee on Constitution Review, Benjamin Kalu, had stated at the inauguration of the House Committee on Constitution Review on February 29, 2024, that the exercise would be concluded by December 2025. According to him, the plan was to complete the amendments before the commencement of electioneering activities for the 2027 polls.
“Our target is to transmit the bills to the President for assent by August 2025, so that by December we would have a fully amended Constitution,” Kalu had said, expressing confidence that the 24-month timeline would be achieved.
Documents obtained by iNews Times show that the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review considered 69 amendment proposals, rejected 25 and approved 44 bills for consideration by the legislature.
Among the rejected proposals were bills seeking rotational presidency and governorship among the six geo-political zones and senatorial districts respectively, state control of mineral resources, impeachment of elected executives for defecting from the parties on whose platforms they were elected, and a ban on granting pardon to persons convicted of corruption.
Also turned down were proposals for the payment of pensions to the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, as well as speakers and deputy speakers of state Houses of Assembly.
However, a report of the House Committee on Constitution Review, jointly signed by Kalu and the committee clerk, Wali Shehu, and recently presented to the House, showed that the 44 approved proposals include bills on reserved legislative seats for women—six in the Senate, 37 in the House of Representatives and 108 in state assemblies, state police and devolution of powers, among others.
In October, the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review recommended the creation of an additional state in the South East and constituted a sub-committee to harmonise the various state creation requests from the six geo-political zones, with a mandate to recommend one proposal per zone.
The sub-committee, however, is yet to submit its report to the joint committee, leaving unresolved which state creation proposals will be considered in the ongoing constitution amendment process.
A source at the National Assembly told iNews Times that the Joint Committee on Constitution Review, co-chaired by Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, is still awaiting the harmonised report on state creation. The source noted that although the South East caucus has met several times to deliberate on an additional state for the zone, it has yet to reach a unified position.
Confirming the development, Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Akin Rotimi, said the joint constitution review committee is awaiting submissions from the zonal caucuses of both chambers on proposals for new states and local government areas. He explained that part of the caucuses’ mandate is to ensure that all constitutional requirements, including referendums and broad legislative consent, are met before recommendations are forwarded.
Rotimi expressed optimism that the zonal caucuses would conclude their work soon, adding that the Senate and House committees are working jointly to avoid conflicting positions that would require further harmonisation.
