AI among reasons driving amendment of 1999 constitution

 A 45-member committee appointed by the Senate to study and update the 1999 Constitution has been given the task of incorporating artificial intelligence as a primary driving force behind the change.

During Wednesday's plenary, Senate President Godswill Akpabio revealed the committee's membership.


He clarified that there are numerous faults in the 1999 constitution that need to be "put right," which is why it has to be reviewed.

According to Akpabio, Barau Jibrin, the deputy Senate president, and Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate leader, will chair the committee. The Senate Leader will serve as the deputy chairman.

“There is a need for us to touch some aspects of the constitution to bring them inline with current relatives particularly with the era of artificial intelligence and some of the things we have observed that need to be put right,” Akpabio said.

In addition, as part of the process of amending the constitution, the Senate President ordered that all Speakers of State Houses of Assemblies be asked to communicate with one another in the National Assembly.

“The Deputy Senate President, you also invite speakers of all state houses of assemblies for interaction with the Senate President before we go into the major issues of presenting the different memos” he added.

According to Akpabio, the committee to modify the constitution will be formally established on Tuesday of next week, and the review process will start right away.

The president of the Senate clarified that members of the committee tasked with amending the constitution were chosen from every state and every geopolitical region.

Additionally, he stated that senators from every party in the Senate make up the committee's membership. 

“It is all political parties and all senatorial districts, all zones are taken care of . We are taking one senator per state because we are talking about the constitution amendment. One Senator per state and then we are also taking one senator representing each geo-political zone .

“So, in case you noticed two senators from one state, that would mean that one of them represents the zone , while there’s one senator from that zone representing that state”, Akpabio said.

Aside from Messrs Barau and Bamidele, other members of the constitution amendment committee are; Oyelola Ashiru, Deputy Senate Leader, Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, Nwebonyi Onyeka, Deputy Whip; Abba Moro , Minority Leader; Osita Ngwu , Minority Whip Deputy Minority Leader; Oyewunmi Olalere, Minority Whip Sani Hangar.

Others are: Enyinnaya Abaribe , Binus Dauda Yaroe, Bassey Etim Akpan, Ifeanyi Ubah, Abdul Ningi , Seriake Dickson, Agom Jarigbe, Ned Nwoko , Adams Oshiomole Danjuma Goje Osita Izunaso, Abdulhamid Ahmed, Khalid Mustapha , Sani Rufai, Mutari Dandutse , Yahaya Abdullahi, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan , Adebule Oluranti , Ugodiya Akwashiki , Sani Musa, Adeola Olamilekan, Adeniyi Ayodele, Abdulfatai Buhari , Simon Lalong Aliyu Wamako, Shuaibu Lau, Ahmed Lawan, Sahabi Alhaji Ya’u , Ireti Kingigbe, Ipalibo Banigo

Zonal representation: Adamu Aliero to represent ( North-west); Orji Uzor Kalu to represent (South-east); Francis Fadahunsi to represent (South-west); Bomai Mohammed to represent (North-east); Barinada Mpigi (South-south); and Umar Sadiq Sulaiman (North-central)