SENATE POSTPONES NORTH-WEST CONSTITUTIONAL REVIEW HEARING TO HONOUR LATE BUSINESS ICON AMINU DANTATA

The Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution has officially postponed its highly anticipated North-West Zonal Public Hearing originally scheduled to hold in Kano on Wednesday, June 12, 2025. The shift was in honour of the late elder statesman and business magnate, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, whose passing on Sunday, June 9, cast a somber shadow across the region and beyond.
The public hearing was part of the nationwide zonal consultations initiated by the National Assembly to engage citizens, traditional leaders, interest groups, and stakeholders on proposed amendments to the 1999 Constitution. The session in Kano was set to gather input from the seven North-Western states: Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
In a statement issued by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, Deputy Senate President Senator Barau I. Jibrin, the Senate expressed deep condolences to the Dantata family and the people of Kano over the loss of the iconic philanthropist and industrialist. Senator Barau, who hails from Kano, described the deceased as “a father figure, a generous soul, and a pillar of economic development in Northern Nigeria.”
“Out of respect for the memory and legacy of Alhaji Aminu Dantata, and in recognition of the need for solemnity and reflection, we have taken the decision to reschedule the North-West Zonal Constitutional Review hearing,” the statement read.
According to the Committee, the decision followed consultations with key stakeholders, including traditional leaders, religious clerics, and civic organisations in the region. A new date will be communicated to the public in the coming days, with assurances that the input of the North-West remains a critical part of the national constitutional review process.
Alhaji Dantata, who was aged 93 at the time of his death, was widely regarded as one of the most respected patriarchs in Nigeria’s private sector. He was a key financier and elder statesman whose philanthropic works and investments in education, commerce, and healthcare spanned decades. His death marked the end of an era in Northern Nigeria’s history and was met with national mourning.
The Senate Committee emphasized that the constitutional review process is a people-driven exercise and that due regard must be given to the cultural and emotional realities of the regions involved. “The Constitution belongs to the people. Our task is not only legislative but also empathetic,” Senator Barau noted.
The Committee also thanked stakeholders for their understanding and reiterated the Senate’s commitment to ensuring that the views of the people of the North-West are robustly represented in the constitutional reform process.
The constitutional amendment exercise has attracted widespread interest, particularly proposals around state creation, devolution of powers, local government autonomy, and resource control. The North-West session, like others held in the South-East, South-West, and North-Central, is expected to play a critical role in shaping the recommendations that will eventually be debated and adopted by the National Assembly.
As the nation reflects on the contributions of Alhaji Aminu Dantata, the Senate’s decision is seen as a mark of respect for a man who was not just a titan of commerce but a symbol of community cohesion, religious tolerance, and national unity.