ABUJA – Kenya’s Members of Parliament (MPs) have expressed their readiness to share experiences with Nigeria to tackle the challenges to their country’s constitutional amendment process.
Mr Njoroge Baiya, the Chairman of the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee of the Kenyan National Assembly, said this at an event organised by the Kenyan High Commission in Abuja to mark the country’s Mashujaa Day (Heroes Day).
Baiya, who led a delegation of MPs and businessmen, said that sharing experiences with Nigeria would enable his country’s parliamentarians to establish a relationship with their counterparts in Nigeria.
“Nigeria is one of the biggest countries in Africa and in 1999 we know that it came up with a new constitution and it has been in the process of implementing that constitution.
“We are doing the same thing in Kenya; we have had a new constitution since 2010 which we have been implementing and we are meeting a lot of challenges along the way and we are here to compare notes.
“To see how Nigeria has dealt with some of the challenges so that we can also learn from them.
“We are also aware that Nigeria is proposing to make amendments to the constitution; we are keen to find out what is informing those proposed amendments.
“Some of the prescriptions in the constitution may not be realisable not necessarily because of unwillingness on the part of the people who are to implement but maybe because some have cultural constraints like the gender equity issues.
“So we have now to worry about what other mechanisms to bring in so that we comply with the constitution,“ Baiya stated.
According to Baiya, his delegation is willing to fashion a strategic partnership between Kenya and Nigeria.
Also speaking, the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rep. Emeka Ihedioha, expressed the readiness of Nigerian lawmakers to share experiences with their Kenyan counterparts.
Ihedioha said that strengthening the relationship between both countries would strengthen efforts at tackling terrorism in Africa.
“We are on a march towards amending our constitution; we have made very significant progress and you have come to compare notes with us; this visit is welcome.
“For us we note that the relationship between our two countries has blossomed; we do believe that this relationship will continue to grow stronger.
“With a strengthened economy we can tackle the challenges of terrorism which is an issue affecting the two nations about the same time.
“We sympathise with you over the challenges you politics is facing with efforts to drag your president to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“Nigeria as a country sympathises with this development and our political class is there to give support to him,“ the deputy speaker said.
Ihedioha congratulated the government for the commitment it put into the containment of the spread of the Ebola Virus.
Amb. Tom Amolo, the Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria, also commended the Federal Government for the successful containment of the spread of the disease.
He expressed Kenya’s readiness to share experiences with Nigeria, saying: “We would want to learn from Nigeria how to take extra measures to ensure that the disease is well contained.“ (NAN)