THE National Assembly will commence the review of the 1999 Constitution when it reconvenes after the Christmas and New Year break. Already, members of the steering committee on the review, drawn from the two chambers of the National Assembly, will begin a retreat on January 15, 2009.

At the retreat, the steering committee members will fine-tune things and review their zonal sensitisation tour they embarked on during the Christmas and New Year break before going into proper work on the constitution review.

A member of the steering committee, Senator Joy Emodi, from Anambra North, disclosed this weekend while on sensitisation visit to prominent traditional rulers in the south east. Emodi represents the south east senators in the steering committee, while Chief Emeka Ihedioha, the House of Representatives chief whip represents the south east representative in the committee.

Members of the committee mandated themselves to embark on aggressive sensitization exercise during the break. Emodi, in the course of the assignment, visited some chairmen and vice chairmen of traditional rulers' councils to stress the need for them to urge the people to actively participate in the constitution review.

Emodi visited the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, who is also the chairman of Anambra State council of traditional rulers and his deputy, Igwe Christopher Idigo of Aguleri. Both of them are prominent members of the South East Traditional Rulers Council.