The House of Representatives on Thursday said that the call by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for a referendum, was not tenable.

The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Rep. Zakari Mohammed (PDP-Kwara), said this at a news conference in Abuja.

According to him, the Nigerian constitution does not provide for a referendum.

"Looking at the 1999 Constitution, the suggestion by the President of the NBA for a referendum is not tenable; it is not part of the Nigerian constitution.

"As a House, we will be focused, we will not join issues with anybody," he said.

He said that the House would go ahead with the review as it would not subscribe to any extra -constitutional process of reviewing the constitution.

He said that the proposed public hearing sessions on the review of the constitution was to put together aggregate opinion of the people at the grassroots for a robust constitution.

The exercise, he added, would take place at the 360 federal constituencies on Nov. 10.

Mohammed said that the constituency hearing was the best option adopted by the House in the review process.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the President of NBA, Mr Okey Wali, on Oct. 30 called on the National Assembly to organise a referendum at the end of the ongoing review of the constitution.

He made the call at the inauguration of the association's committee on the review of the 1999 constitution.

Wali said that NBA would continue to call for a referendum at the final stage of the review of process of the constitution to give an average Nigerian a say in the amendment.

"Only then could any legitimate claim be made to it being a constitution by the people of Nigeria.

"A referendum is the ultimate consultation with the people of Nigeria, not a one-day gathering in federal constituencies," he said.