Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, on Friday, inaugurated a 28-man Constitution Review Committee with a charge to identify the areas inimical to the hopes and aspirations of the Ijaws.
Dickson said the charge became imperative because of the position of the people in the present scheme of things.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, retired Rear Admiral John Jonah, Dickson noted the contributions of the Ijaws toward the socio-economic growth of the country.
He stressed the need for a workable as well as people-oriented constitution, urging sensitisation of the people on the exercise.
Its terms included, facilitating the process of consensus building among the people of the state, articulating a common position on aspects of the constitution that should be reviewed and determining the nature and scope of review desired.
In addition, the committee is to mobilise political support within and outside the National Assembly toward review of the constitution reflecting the hopes and aspirations of the people of Bayelsa.
He expressed optimism that the committee would be able to articulate the issues that were of strategic importance to the state from the divergent views of the people.
He advised the committee to be guided by the templates already provided by the National Assembly as the constitutional review was not targeted at fighting the Federal Government.
Responding, the Chairman of the Committee, Prof. Kimse Okoko, underscored the importance of the exercise toward building a just and egalitarian society.
Represented by Fred Agbedi, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters, Okoko pledged to work hard to accomplish the task
Members of the committee included, members of the House of Representatives, state legislators, traditional rulers, the Secretary to the State Government and Prof. Edmund Allison-Oguru.
NAN
