From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
An NGO, Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA) Africa, has held a sensitization workshop for Enugu residents ahead of the upcoming zonal public hearing on the review of the 1999 constitution by the National Assembly.
Enugu State Coordinator of YIAGA Africa, Mrs. Njideka Eze while addressing participants at the workshop said that it was an effort to organize citizens and CSO partners at the state level to engage the zonal public hearing on constitution review which will hold on the 26th and 27th of May.
She further explained that, the 2-day zonal public hearing is slated to hold in two centers in each of the six geo-political zones, noting that Owerri and Enugu are the two chosen centers for South East.
“While Owerri will cover for both Imo and Abia, Enugu Centre on the other hand will serve people from Enugu, Ebonyi and Anambra states respectively.”
She stated that, “as an organization working to support democracy in Nigeria, key issues for us in this constitution review process include; to increased women representation and vulnerable group participation in government;
“Local government administration/local government autonomy; a review on the federal structure of governance/power devolution; a focus on electoral reforms and a justifiability of social economy rights”.
YIAGA facilitator, Prof. Magdalen Igbolo,  urged citizens to take advantage of the public hearing and make their contributions count in the march towards a constitution that will reflect the yearnings of the people.