The seven governors of Nigeria’s Northwest geopolitical zone have taken a decisive step toward shaping the future of the country’s constitutional reform, with a united resolve to champion regional priorities through coordinated action.
Declaring open the Technical Session of the Northwest Governors’ Forum on Constitution Review on Monday, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, urged delegates to engage the process boldly and realistically, keeping regional interests and national priorities at heart.
Speaking on behalf of the Forum's Chairman, Dr. Balarabe welcomed participants to the consultative event held at the Ladi Kwali Hall, Abuja Continental Hotel, emphasizing that the session represents a critical opportunity for the region to influence constitutional reform with a coherent and strong voice.
> “This session is not just another meeting. It is a call to duty,” she said. “A call to interrogate the issues before us with clarity, honesty, and a deep sense of responsibility.”
Regional Priorities and National Influence
The session convened senior officials, legal experts, and policy stakeholders from Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Sokoto, and Zamfara States, aiming to harmonize the region’s input into the ongoing amendment of the 1999 Constitution.
Dr. Balarabe cautioned against politicizing the reform agenda and instead encouraged patriotic engagement, focused on advancing both regional and national development.
She listed state policing, fiscal federalism, fairer revenue allocation, and greater subnational autonomy as some of the pressing constitutional demands shared across the Northwest. She also highlighted the region’s peculiar challenges including:
Insecurity and banditry
High youth unemployment
Deteriorating infrastructure
Drug abuse
Erosion of traditional institutions
> “These are not problems confined to one state,” she stated. “They are regional in scope and demand regional solutions.”
From Consultation to Consensus
Referencing recent public hearings held across the region, including one in Kaduna, Dr. Balarabe noted the increasing demand for governance reforms that ensure security, inclusion, and development.
She emphasized the humanitarian and economic costs of ongoing violence and displacement, calling for constitutional amendments that would protect the vulnerable and ensure equitable development across the region.
In her closing remarks, Dr. Balarabe expressed hope that the outcomes of the technical session would form the backbone of a unified Northwest position in national deliberations and elevate the region’s voice in the broader constitutional reform process.
> “Let this meeting mark a turning point in how we approach our collective advocacy—not as isolated states, but as a bloc committed to peace, development, and dignity for all citizens of the Northwest, and indeed, all Nigerians,” she concluded.
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The Technical Session signals a proactive and strategic phase in the Northwest Governors’ effort to shape Nigeria’s constitutional future through collective engagement, reinforcing the region's influence in the nation’s evolving democratic structure.
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