THE planned constitution review would have gone a long way by now but for the coronavirus pandemic, Senate Deputy President, Ovie Omo-Agege, said on Friday.
Omo-Agege, who chairs the Senate Adhoc Committee on Constitution Review, said in his New Year message that the pandemic “disrupted our earlier plans to have the constitution alteration bills voted on sometime in December last year.”
But he said the National Assembly was not relenting in getting the job done.
He pledged that the Senate would be fair to all, while efforts are being made to ensure that the report of the panel would be ready in record time.
“Consequently, we will have those votes taken on each of these bills separately in not too distant time,” he said in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yomi Odunuga, in Abuja.
He asked Nigerians to use the New Year to renew their commitment to collective prosperity, growth and development by contributing more to nation building.He also stressed the need for citizens to continue to demonstrate love and exhibit compassion towards one another.
He said:”COVID-19 has upended the global economy with its devastating effects not only on health, but on domestic economies and multilateral trade, cooperation and aid. It has led to recession in various countries, killed over a million people and wiped out millions of jobs.”
“We are also confronted with security challenges in most parts of the country.
“As Nigerians, we stand together, confident that we shall again overcome these challenges. Our ability to overcome our challenges collectively has never been in doubt, what we need now more than ever is to galvanize these unique qualities for the good of all.”
“As a people, we must continue to imbibe the spirit of togetherness and love for one another. We must also support the government at all levels by contributing our quota to the generation of wealth and the alleviation of poverty in the land.
“I firmly believe that we are on course to true greatness. Let us keep hope alive as we renew our collective resolve to ensure that the dreams and labour of our heroes’ past are transformed into a better future for succeeding generations.” —Omo-Agege