HeadlineNational Assembly and Challenge of Constitution Amendment

National Assembly and Challenge of Constitution Amendment

June 20, (THEWILL)- The National Assembly has begun the process of reviewing the 1999 Constitution which has attracted condemnation from many Nigerians over the past 22 years.

The Senate held a national public hearing on the review of the constitution between June 3 and 4, 2021 in the Federal Capital Territory.

It would be recalled that the National Assembly had made previous attempts at reviewing the constitution in the past with little or no result to show to the agitating Nigerians.

The public hearing was a follow up to similar sittings held at the zonal level across the country a few weeks ago, an event described by Senate President Ahmed Lawan as successful. Under the exercise, each of the six geopolitical zones of the country was assigned two venues to enable groups and individuals present their demands. The venues were Enugu and Owerri for the South-East; Lagos and Akure for the South-West, Kaduna and Sokoto for the North-West, Bauchi and Gombe for the North-East, Port Harcourt and Asaba for the South-South, and Jos and Minna for the North-Central.

Lawan & Gbajabiamila

The process for reviewing the 1999 Constitution, as amended, gathered momentum with the zonal public hearings in 12 venues as attendees clamoured for the creation of state police, devolution of powers to the states, creation of more states, restructuring and fiscal federalism. These demands featured prominently in the presentations made by stakeholders at the event nationwide.

Major contributions during the zonal hearing came from Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, who advocated a return to the 1963 Constitution, his counterpart in Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, who called for a new constitution and not an amendment of the 1999 document. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State canvassed a special status for the state, which hitherto hosted the nation’s capital, while the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) also submitted a 72-page document seeking the retention of the minimum wage, among other demands. Local government workers, under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), asked the lawmakers to make local governments autonomous.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution, Senator Kabiru Gaya, said the committee received a large number of memos from the states during the zonal sittings.

Akeredolu set the ball rolling by declaring his support for calls for a return to the 1963 Constitution, which gave powers to the regions to develop at their own pace.

The governor said the 1963 Constitution, which reflected the republican status of the country, remained the best document for a country as heterogeneous as Nigeria.

He said the powers of the Federal Government must be trimmed as it was the major source of friction in the country.

Akeredolu, who is also the Chairman of the South-West Governors Forum, warned that the current attempt at constitution amendment should be taken beyond the usual jamboree conceived and executed to arrive at a predetermined result.

“The current exercise, therefore, must not toe the path of the previous attempts at tokenism. The basic law of any country must not be reduced to frivolities reflecting preferred whimsies,” he added.

Presenting the position of Ekiti State, the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Akeem Jamiu, like Akeredolu, said the new constitution should allow only five political parties, independent candidates, e-voting and Diaspora voting.

He advocated a new revenue formula, which should be in favour of the states and local government areas. He also said that there should be state police.

Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State identified inadequacies in the constitution to cover revenue allocation, security provision and inclusiveness in running the affairs of the country.

On his part, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State noted that citizens’ participation in the ongoing constitution review would strengthen democracy.

Tambuwal also described the constitution as a reference point of democracy.

In Enugu, devolution of power and creation of state police topped discussions at the public hearing. Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi expressed his support and that of the state to the constitution amendments, which he said would enhance Nigeria’s unity and prosperity, especially “in an environment where justice, fairness and equity shall prevail.”

In Jos, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State expressed the hope that the constitution review would help to address the security challenges in the state and other parts of the country.

He said, “Hopefully, this constitutional review should lead to better policing that is closer to the people in order to stop this kind of unacceptable murders.

“Let me use this opportunity as the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum to say that we have since set up committees on restructuring, the role of traditional rulers, engagement with the youth and even economic reforms of the region.”

Also Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State emphasised the need for the amendments to produce a people’s constitution that would guarantee devolution of powers, fiscal federalism and creation of state police in addition to strengthening the electoral system.

He said the amendments must allow the states to create and sustain local government councils and ensure the reduction of the costs of governance at both federal and state levels.

“A better constitution can only be possible if the exercise is approached and carried out with sincerity of purpose and commitment to correct the fundamental challenges that have caused deep cracks to the foundation of our country and threatening to tear our dear nation into pieces.

“It is only the blind that may not see that Nigeria is headed for a dangerous precipice unless something drastic and urgent is done to correct the identified flaws in our constitution and the nature of the federal system that has been foisted on this country.”

The Pan –Yoruba Socio- cultural organisation, Afenifere, described the process initiated by the National Assembly to amend the constitution as an exercise in futility.

The group did not submit a memorandum to the Senate Committee on Constitution Review. Its Secretary-General, Chief Sola Ebiseni, said efforts aimed at amending the constitution would not achieve any positive result.

He said, “Afenifere advocates fundamental restructuring of Nigeria for the reinvention of a federal constitution as the agreed principles of governing the country and its diverse ethnic nationalities by our founding fathers, which will ultimately replace the imposed 1999 unitary constitution.

“Amending the constitution is an exercise in futility and a waste of time and public fund.

“We cannot claim to be a federal republic and be governed by a unitary constitution. We cannot claim to be in a democracy and be governed by a constitution that does not emanate from the people.

“Amendment will not cure the anomalies. You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand.

“Every session of the two arms of the National Assembly since 2007 has embarked on the same jamboree of a constitutional amendment by spending public funds on public hearings without achieving any result.

“The National Assembly is part of the issue to be determined in the process of restructuring and it cannot legitimately be the judge in such exercise.

“This is evident from the condemnation of the declarations of the governors of the southern states in support of restructuring by both the Senate president and speaker of the House of Representatives, while the committees, as agents of the National Assembly, were gallivanting around the country. From nothing, nothing comes. Ex nihilo nihil fit.”

However, Ohanaeze Ndigbo demanded internal autonomy based on a restructured Nigeria in the proposed new constitution.

The organisation’s President-General, Ambassador George Obiozor, spoke on the second day of the South-East zonal public hearing of the Senate Committee on the Review of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

He stated that true federalism must be clearly defined and it must reflect decentralisation and devolution of power among the federating units.

Speaking with THEWILL, a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olabode George, described the attempt by the National Assembly to amend the constitution as deceitful.

He said, “Who produced the National Assembly? Is it not the same constitution? You can see the deceit”

George said the only solution to the challenges facing the country lay in the adoption of the report of the 2014 National Conference. He stressed that since the confab had discussed everything about Nigeria, it should be adopted as the way forward for the country.

A former presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party, Dr Yunusa Tanko, also adopted Afenifere’s position.

In an interview with THEWILL, Tanko said, “I support a brand new constitution. Many Nigerians will not be comfortable with the amendment they are trying to make. There are certain things that people are agitating for. Some are demanding the creation of an additional state in the South-East. Some people are calling for resource control. Some are calling for true federalism, in terms of controlling their own police and so on. Generally the constitution needs a complete overhaul.

“No matter what amendment is made, if it does not take care of these things holistically, many people will kick against it. So, instead of allowing people to kick, why don’t we just have a constitution that will be acceptable to every Nigerian? Then we can start the process of rebuilding our country”.

Also speaking with THEWILL, former presidential candidate of KOWA in the 2015 presidential election, Prof Remi Sonaiya, said she also supported a brand new constitution instead of amending the 1999 constitution.

“I will like to let you know that what we are asking for is a brand new constitution. Of course, the National Assembly said they are not empowered to do that, that what their power can do is to make amendments. So our suggestion is that they can just do one thing for us. They should not worry about the issues that various interests groups have brought before them. Let them do one thing: Amend the constitution to allow the citizens to have a referendum on the constitution. Let them just do that one thing for us.

“Once that is done, the citizens can take over. This is because what we want now is a citizen-driven constitution. It is not the one that a group of people will impose upon us. The citizens are already talking. Some are saying let us first of all revert to 1963 constitution. That one was clearly negotiated and agreed to by the different regions of Nigeria. May be we can go that way and then each region with autonomy can now decide what kind of structure they want internally for their region. Some are rejecting this proposal because the regions in those days were named Western, Eastern and Northern Regions.

“What if we just take the six geopolitical zones that we have now and let them be the federating units of our federation? Each federating unit can then decide what kind of structure it wishes to have internally. This issue about having the constitution listing the local government areas in the country is not the business of the constitution. These are the issues we are concerned about”.

Political analysts and watchers of political development are eagerly awaiting the National Assembly’s effort to bring about the desired change through the amendment of the constitution. Will the lawmakers be able to do it? Only time will tell.

About the Author

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AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.

Ayo Esan, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.

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