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Tag: 1999 Constitution

  • 1999 Constitution won’t guarantee emergence of credible leaders – Afe Babalola

    1999 Constitution won’t guarantee emergence of credible leaders – Afe Babalola

    Chief Afe Babalola, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) says the 1999 Constitution will not guarantee the emergence of credible leaders at the February general elections.

    “Unless a new Constitution similar to those of 1960 and 1963 Constitutions, with necessary amendments, is put in place, none of the aspirants, and indeed no angel can save Nigeria from total collapse,’’ he said.

    The proprietor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, made the declaration on Wednesday at the Ekiti capital at a news conference.

    He was reacting to the adoption of Mr. Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    “On April 18, 2022, I urged the Federal Government to suspend the 2023 general elections and to raise an interim government of six months that will fashion out a new Constitution for the country.

    “I still stand by my suggestion that any election conducted under the 1999 Constitution cannot, and will not produce new leaders with new ideas.

    “Any election conducted under the 1999 Constitution will merely result in recycling the same people who brought Nigeria to grinding poverty, mass unemployment, underfunded education, insecurity, and huge external debts,’’ Babalola said.

    The elder statesman noted that only a moneybag; and not the best-qualified candidates could win the February presidential election under the present constitutional arrangement.

    He explained that the LP presidential candidate’s adoption by former President Obasanjo was his right of expression, and might be a result of the contestant’s acclaimed untainted records of character and sound education.

    He stressed that the 1999 Constitution was too lopsided and faulty to produce the type of change agent and developmental leader Obasanjo had in mind.

    He added that the 1999 Constitution was not what Nigeria needed at a time like this.

    “I am an elder statesman, a SAN, the highest taxpayer in old Ondo State, the highest taxpayer in present Ekiti, owner of the best private university in Nigeria and many more.

    “If I contest for political office today, I will fail, not because I am not qualified, but because the system will make me not to win.

    “I have no sympathy for any Nigerian aspiring to rule Nigeria in any form, whether as a legislator, governor, or president.

    “The fact remains that the 1999 Constitution on a large scale is the root cause of economic, social, political, and religious problems in the country today.

    “Our experience since 1999 has taught us that we are in urgent need of a new Constitution.

    “The new Constitution should provide for stringent conditions in respect of age, academic qualifications, character, and personality, as well as family background of candidates, especially for the presidency and the National Assembly,’’ Babalola said.

    He noted also that Nigeria’s external debt had risen to N42.84 trillion as of June 30, 2022, while domestic debt servicing rose to N5.24 trillion in the same period.

    He said that any Nigerian aspiring to lead the country ought to be worried about the country’s debt profile and advocated for urgent measures to defray the huge foreign debts.

    “In addition, government should emulate Obasanjo’s example by approaching the country’s creditors, either for total debt forgiveness or for substantial reduction of the debts,’’ the legal luminary stressed.

  • The President we all need (1) – By Sonnie Ekwowusi

    The President we all need (1) – By Sonnie Ekwowusi

    We can no longer leave the fate of our country and our lives in the hands of political misfits who don’t have the foggiest idea that political leadership basically entails improving the welfare of the people. Almost everyone you meet these days in Nigeria says it, and, I dare join today in saying it: now is our chance to recover our stolen common wealth from the thieving imbeciles. To this effect, many Nigerian voters across the different divides (the Nigerian young inclusive) have, unlike in the past, irrevocably resolved to vote for a presidential candidate of their choice who will build a new Nigeria, all things being equal, on February 25 2023.

    The current Buhari government is a waterless a cloud, carried along by the winds; a fruitless tree in late autumn, depraved, dead and uprooted; a wild wave of the sea casting up the form of its suffocating smell; a wandering and wicked crescent for whom the nether gloom of darkness has been reserved for ever. For nearly 8 years the Buhari government has brought an unspeakable monumental ruin to Nigeria and Nigerian families. For instance, the incapacity of President Buhari to defend and maintain Nigeria’s territorial sovereignty as well as secure the borders of Nigeria from internal and external violation in consonant with sections 1 (2) and 2(1) of the 1999 Constitution. Mohammadu Buhari, no doubt, has gone down the anal of Nigerian political history, if not the Guinness Book of Record) as the worst political leader in Nigeria. His inability, pursuant to section 14 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution, to protect lives and property of the citizenry and to suppress internal insurrection, banditry, secession threats, murder, anarchy, tension, fear, suspicion and disorderliness has enthroned the reign of anarchy. Nobody seems to be in charge of Nigeria at the moment. The Hobbesian bellum omnium contra omnes (war of all against all) characterized by barbaric bloodletting, communal bloody feuds, kidnaps, banditries, gun-running and so forth now reigns supreme in different parts of Nigeria. Uncertainty, confusion, fear and apprehension rule the lives of many in Nigeria. We now live in a free-for-all country where nobody seems to be in charge of anything or anybody. We go to bed and wake up itching to hear the sad news of another bloodletting abduction or kidnapping. In 2017, Nigeria was ranked as the third most-terrorized country in the world. In the same 2017 Nigeria Police was ranked as the worst Police in the world. In the same 2017 Nigeria was ranked by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a country with the 3rd highest infant mortality rate in the world. In the same 2017 Northern Nigeria was ranked as the worst region in the world with the highest number of illiterates.

    On July 25 2018 the BBC reported that “Nigeria has the largest number of out-of-school children, totaling 13 million, in the world.” In the 2018 Global Rankings of “Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index” of the OXFAM and Development Finance International (DFI), Nigeria was ranked 157 out of 157 countries. In the same 2018, Nigeria overtook India as the country with the highest number of under-5 deaths in the world. In the same 2018 Nigeria was ranked as one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth to and the 4th country in the world with the worst maternal mortality death rate. In the same 2018 Nigeria was ranked among the worst malaria hit countries in the world. In the same year, 2018, Nigeria was ranked by the World Bank among the seven worst countries on the World Bank Human Capital Index. In the 2018 Global Hunger Index (GHI), Nigeria was ranked as the 103rd hungriest country in the world out of 119 qualifying countries. In the same 2018, Nigeria was ranked among the worst malaria hit countries in the world. In the same 2018 Nigerian was ranked by the World Bank among the seven worst countries on the World Bank Human Capital Index.

    In 2018, the African Development Bank (AfDB) revealed that the World Poverty Clock named Nigeria as the poverty capital of the world. According to Mr. Constant Tchona, a representative of OXFAM in Nigeria: “The number of people that live below extreme poverty as at April 2018 was 91,501,377 thus reaffirming that Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world. As if that was not bad enough, six months later, the number jumped to 94, 470, 533 people meaning that 2,969, 158 Nigerians have been added into Nigeria’s extreme poverty rate. The latest is that the National Bureau Statistics (NBS) has revealed that no fewer than 133 Nigerians, representing 63 per cent of the Nigerian population, are currently living in multi-dimensional abject poverty. At the moment the Naira currency is having its worst free fall. For the first time in our political history we have now become a suicidal country. In 2018 Nigeria was ranked as a suicide-prone country. Today Nigeria is ranked the fifth in the world among countries whose citizens are most prone to commit suicide. A bag of rice now sells for N36,000, the salary of many Nigerians.

    What is most nauseating is that, amid these calamities, President Buhari keeps gallivanting from pillar to post beating his chest in the euphoria of triumph and telling those who care to listen to him: “I am not a failure. I am a good man. I will not leave office a failure”. Is this not laughable?. A President who had already failed is giving himself a pass mark and saying that he is not a failure. Anyway, two things, in my view, are deductible from Buhari’s gloating. First: Buhari forgets the time-test aphorism credited to Sheikh Uthman Dan Fodio that conscience is an open wound and only truth can heal it. Pricked by the pangs of his conscience, Buhari has been placating his conscience and telling all who care to listen that he is not a failure. He forgets that only truth and justice can heal his wound: Second: Mr. President is not in touch with reality otherwise he cannot be giving himself a pass mark when in actual fact he is a failure. Enslaved by his gratified lusts and sheer fatuity President Buhari has refused to read the mene, mene, tekel, upharsin emblazoned on the walls of Aso Villa Presidential Building, Abuja. He can’t understand that his 8-year stewardship has come to a pathetic and ruinous end. He seems not to understand that about 99% of Nigerians had already judged him a failure and that there is nothing he can do to reverse their judgment against him.

    Consequently, the February 25 presidential election is a golden opportunity to break away from our iniquitous past. To those regretting and sorrowing for committing a mortal sin in 2015 or 2019 by voting for Buhari, I say, February 25 2023 is the day of salvation. It is the acceptable time. Therefore, they should make amends and atone for the sin which they committed in 2015 or 2019 by voting for candour, content, charism, competence and character in 2023. From the outset I knew that Buhari would make a disaster President. So, I did not vote for him in 2015. Neither did I vote for him in 2019. Anyway, old things have passed away. Let us make amendments today that grace may abound. We are the children of the light, not of darkness. Light has nothing in common with darkness. There is no doubt that Buhari has endorsed a stooge to succeed him in 2023 so that the stooge would protect the Fulani oligarchical structures which he (Buhari) had laboured to build in the last seven and half years. Therefore let us resolve to make a complete break with Buharism. Good riddance to Buharism. So, do not vote for a Buhari stooge on February 25 2023. We should be aiming to breathe fresh air in 2023. Don’t tell me it is impossible to break away from our iniquitous past. All things are possible to those who believe. We can break away from the ruinous status quo. The Kenyans did it this year by electing William Ruto, 55, who ran for President for the first time. In fact Ruto fell out with political godfather Uhuru Kenyatta. As a result, Kenyatta backed Mr. Raila Amolo Odinga to succeed him in office. But Ruto came from behind and won the election.

  • Delta Assembly commences review of 1999 Constitution

    Delta Assembly commences review of 1999 Constitution

    The Delta House of Assembly on Monday commenced legislative action on the review of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, Fifth Alteration Bill.

    To commence the process, the Speaker, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori in Asaba led members and some management staff of the assembly on a two-day retreat to examine the bill ahead of deliberations on the floor of the House.

    In his opening remarks, Oborevwori said that the retreat was to set in motion the legislative process that would culminate to the resolution of the House towards the Fifth Alteration of the 1999 Constitution.

    “My honourable colleagues, it is indeed a great pleasure for me and the leadership of the Seventh Assembly to be part of history in the Fifth Alteration of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

    “It is also my pleasure to welcome you all to this very vital retreat put together by the leadership of the House to enable us set in motion the legislative process that will culminate to the resolution of the House towards the Fifth Alteration of the 1999 Constitution.”

    Oborevwori explained that the two chambers of the National Assembly, had in the review considered 68 amendments in the Fifth Alteration Bill, and adopted 44 of them, which were transmitted to the 36 State Houses of Assembly for further legislative action.

    ”The National Assembly, that is, the Senate and the House of Representatives, had in review of the 1999 Constitution, considered 68 (Fifth Alteration) Bills, but passed only 44 of them.

    ”These 44 bills have been transmitted to the 36 State Houses of Assembly for further legislative action,” Oborevwori said.

    According to him, the exercise is in compliance with Section 9, subsection 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended.

    Oborevwori said that the 44 amendments passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly dealt specifically with issues of development, governance, politics and the economy.

    He added that more powers would be devolved to the states in the journey to true federalism.

    The Speaker stressed that the assignment deserved diligence and commitment, and urged members to use the opportunity to showcase the vibrancy of the Delta State House of Assembly.

    Oborevwori said there was a strong need to build consensus on constitutional issues, adding that they must get it right for the benefit of the people and for the unity of the country.

    He disclosed that seasoned and time- tested resource persons were assembled to take them through in the course of the retreat and urged members to see it as an opportunity to acquire fresh knowledge and expand their horizons.

    On her part, the Clerk of the House, Mrs Lyna Ocholor, recalled when the leadership of the National Assembly invited Clerks of the 36 State Houses of Assembly in the country to a discourse on the Alteration Bill and directed immediate attention to it in their various states.

    Ocholor said that they were advised to look into the 44 amendments for further legislative actions.

    She said that the three guest speakers at the retreat participated actively in the exercise, which made them eminently qualified to handle the deliberations and take them through to enable them vote on the bills.

  • Senate to vote on report of constitution review committee next Tuesday

    Senate to vote on report of constitution review committee next Tuesday

    The Senate will next week Tuesday vote on the report of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review on amendments to the 1999 Constitution.

    Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, gave the hint at the start of plenary, following an announcement made to invite members of the committee to a meeting scheduled to hold by 2pm on Tuesday.

    Omo-Agege, who presided over the session, disclosed that the report of the Constitution Review Committee would be laid tomorrow during plenary, and copies distributed to lawmakers tomorrow, Wednesday, February 23, 2022.

    He, therefore, appealed to Senators to study the report ahead of its consideration and ensure they are present during plenary next Tuesday to avail themselves of the opportunity to vote on it.

    According to the lawmaker who also chairs the Constitution Review Committee, for some provisions of the report to be considered and voted on, the mandatory two-thirds and four-fifth requirements of the membership of the entire Senate must be meet by the chamber.

    Omo-Agege said, “The Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution will meet today, Tuesday, 22nd day of February, 2022, immediately after plenary sitting at room 221 of the Senate building.

    “Please, this meeting is very crucial. Tomorrow, the Senate President will announce that the report of the Constitution Review Committee will be laid on Wednesday tomorrow and, thereafter, we will take our vote on March 1st which will be Tuesday.

    “That will give us about 4 to 5 days to review the report, consult as we deem fit and be prepared to vote. It is imperative that all of our colleagues be present on that day.

    “As you know, there are certain amendments that will require the two-thirds majority of all our colleagues – the entire Senate – not two-third of those who are present, but two-thirds of the entire membership of the Senate and, indeed, there are some other provisions that would require four-fifths of the entire Senate.

    “So, please, it is my appeal without prejudice to the announcement the Senate President will make tomorrow, in my capacity as the Chairman of the Committee, to urge that all of our members be prepared to be present to cast their vote to cast their vote on Tuesday.

    “The report will be laid tomorrow and be made available to all members, which report you will take home and we expect you to bring back to the chamber on Tuesday to cast your vote.”

  • Nigeria@61: Buhari using ‘flawed’ 1999 constitution to cage Nigerians – NADECO

    Nigeria@61: Buhari using ‘flawed’ 1999 constitution to cage Nigerians – NADECO

    The National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) has accused the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration of using the disputed 1999 constitution to cage Nigerians.

    The group therefore requested that a new constitution be put in place before the next general election saying doing other wise make elections defective.

    It’s National Secretary, Ayo Opadokun, stated this in a democracy Day message he signed and released to newsmen.

    He said: “This administration prefers to trivialise the genuine refusals of the entrapped, humiliated and oppressed ethnic nationalities to guarantee further obedience and subservience to the forged 1999 Constitution that has transformed them into enslaved and conquered nationalities and had been used to appropriate to the ruling oligarchy through the misuse of state coercive instruments”

    He said NADECO will support the decision of the entrapped ethnic nationalities, not to be bound again or participate in any purported elections under the disputed and forged 1999 Constitution in which they had no participation.

    Opadokun implored the United Nations, its Security Council and other global bodies committed to peaceful co-existence to urgently fast-track their preparations to conduct referendum to ascertain the wishes and aspirations for self-determination of the entrapped indigenous ethnic nationalities.

    He said these ethnic groups have been on their ancestral lands, owning their waters, vegetations and natural resources for several thousand years before the invasion of the British colonial masters.

    Opadokun added: “NADECO hereby requests the UNO, its Security Council and other Global bodies to critically accept that their failure to act timeously on these legitimate demands for their intervention may tantamount to an invitation to possible national conflagration and unmanageable national crisis which may result in to consequential deleterious situations on the West African Sub-Region, the African Continent and the World in general.

    “Let it be remembered that Nigeria as the most populous black nation in the world has about 200 million citizens residing in a suffocating geographical and political space, the possible reaction of the entrapped ethnic nationalities who are already overwhelmed with repression, discriminations on religion, gender, ethnicities can quickly result to national upheavals, forced dispersal and migration with their attendant global consequences.”

  • Catholic Bishops demands removal of Sharia law from 1999 Constitution

    The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, has asked the National Assembly to expunge from the 1999 Constitution all references to Sharia Islamic law.

    The Bishops also urged the lawmakers to project the secularity of Nigeria pursuant to Sections 10 and 38 of the Constitution as no other religion is recognised by the supreme law of the country except Islam.

    In the copy of its memorandum presented to the Senate Committee on Constitution Review obtained by Vanguard on Thursday in Abuja, the CBCN stated that there must be an end to the established status that Islam enjoys in the Constitution before Nigeria can have lasting peace and unity.

    The memorandum, which was co-signed by the CBCN President, Archbishop Augustine Akubeze, and the Secretary of CBCN, Bishop Camillus Umoh, maintained that the 1999 constitution was an imposition of the military, adding that it has put Christians and adherents of other religions at a disadvantage in any place with a Muslim majority.

    ALSO READ: Ondo PDP knocks Akeredolu for building new N2bn governor’s lodge amidst unpaid salaries

    The Catholic Bishops’ memo reads in part: “Regarding the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we state in the first place that there was no time Nigerians convened as individual stakeholders or as represented citizens to decide on or give it to them as a binding law or constitution. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a product of and an imposition of the military.

    “Bearing this in mind, therefore, the particular aspect we want to address for this Review of the 1999 Constitution has to do with the place Islam as a religion has assumed in our Constitution vis-à-vis our national life, to the extent that the 1999 Constitution has put Christians and adherents of other religions at a disadvantage in any place with a Muslim majority.

    “Complaints abound about the lack of adequate compliance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria against the establishment of any state religion, respect for the freedom of religion, including the right to freely change one’s religion, and equality of all religions before the law. In particular, there have been complaints about the special bias, recognition and prominence accorded to Islam in the Constitution of this nation, Nigeria.

    “The framers of the 1999 Constitution created Sharia Courts for Muslims. This explains why a Christian cannot be appointed as Kadi under the laws of the States or Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal.

    “Thus, we conclude that while Muslims exclusively have a Court that regulates their affairs and to which they can exclusively be appointed as Judges, the same cannot be said for the Christians, or people of other religions. This shows a constitutionally backed gap of inequality and under-representation in the Nigerian judiciary

    “The establishment of Sharia Courts of Appeal in our Constitution is therefore inconsistent with Sections 10 and 38 of the 1999 Constitution. It amounts to the adoption of a State religion which Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution forbids and prohibits.

    “It translates to the adoption of Islam as a State religion. Of course, the enforcement of Sharia laws with public funds amounts to those States adopting Islam as a religion. We submit that adopting sharia law(s) as a State laws(s) amounts to adopting the religion founding those laws as state religion; and this violates Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution.

    “To ensure peace and unity of the nation, there must be an end to the practically established status that Islam enjoys in our Constitution. We note in this regard that while Islam is mentioned very many times in the Constitution, there is not a single mention of Christianity or any other religion in the Constitution. This should be redressed.

    “For the sustenance unity and fairness in this country, the Senate has to take seriously this stand of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria in response to its call for memoranda on the Review of the 1999 Constitution; and has to see this Constitution review exercise as an opportunity to give sincere listening ear to Nigerians to whom the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended) later referred to as ‘The 1999 Constitution’ remains an imposition.

    “Consequently, we, the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria, speaking in the name of the Catholic community in Nigeria, hereby submit that Nigerians do not have one law as one people in one nation.

    “To correct this, all references to Sharia and any other discriminatory or divisive law(s) should be expunged from the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended).”

  • Why Nigeria must scrap 1999 constitution, adopt 1963 Republican Charter – Sagay

    Why Nigeria must scrap 1999 constitution, adopt 1963 Republican Charter – Sagay

    Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Professor Itse Sagay (SAN) has advocated for immediate scrapping of the 1999 Constitution and adoption of the 1963 Republican Charter.

    “My own personal preference is that we should scrap this Constitution and adopt the 1963 Republican Constitution,” Sagay said on a monitored Channels Television programme on Monday.

    He believes the 1963 Republican Constitution addresses everything that is being agitated for in the country and can help halt the turmoil that has rocked the nation.

    “If we had that, with amendments here and there to make it accommodate states rather than regions which we used to have, I think all these agitations will die down and everybody will be happy,” he added.

    Sagay also noted the report of the Nasir El-Rufai led All Progressives Congress (APC) Committee on Restructuring.

    He stated that the committee came up with an excellent report, stressing the need to look at the content of the documents and implement them.

    The senior advocate was, however, of the opinion that it would be better to implement the report in a totally new Constitution, rather than amending the existing one which would involve lots of amendments.

    He explained that the move by the APC to set up such a committee in the first instance was indicative that President Muhammadu Buhari was in favour of federalism and devolution of powers.

    The PACAC chairman, however, said, “I am personally disappointed that that excellent document is being allowed to gather dust and I think the leaders of the party should now bring it out and go to the President and say, we should now make a move to implement what we ourselves commissioned and have approved because that is what the whole country wants now.”

    As one of the few people who have virtually seen Nigeria from the beginning, the octogenarian revealed that he knew nothing about the Federal Government as a secondary school student.

    He recalled that governance was being controlled at the regional level, noting that there was so much peace in the land at the time.

    “I only knew about Ibadan and Awolowo; the region controlled my life from A-Z and everything worked perfectly, beautifully, happily. That is what we are missing. We just have to go back to that otherwise Nigeria will not enjoy stability,” he said.

    Sagay added, “If we can have a process which will be towards having a new Constitution, it will be better. Until we have it, we can manage with what the National Assembly is doing but certainly, it is far from satisfactory but may result in an improvement of what we have now.

    “But what we really need is a clear departure from what we have. what we have now is a unitary constitution parading itself as a federal constitution.”

  • Peace won’t reign in Nigeria until we amend 1999 constitution – Gani Adams

    Peace won’t reign in Nigeria until we amend 1999 constitution – Gani Adams

    Gani Adams, Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, says the 1999 constitution (as amended) is “satanic and wicked” while stressing that until it is amended Nigeria may not know peace.

    Adams said this on Wednesday when he featured on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme.

    The Aare Ona kakanfo of Yorubaland said the country is being run on the basis of a wrong structure.

    “The major problem now is that Nigeria is being run on the basis of a wrong structure, Nigeria is being run on the basis of a wrong constitution,” he said.

    “The constitution of 1999 is wicked, it is satanic. If we don’t correct it, I can’t guarantee peace will reign in this country.”

    While commenting on the order issued by Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo state, he said herders operating illegally should vacate the forest reserves of the state.

    Adams said the governor as the chief security officer of the state must “take the bull by the horn” to protect his people.

    “If the governor did not give the eviction, would the federal government have agreed for the governors’ forum to hold a meeting with the Ondo state government with south-west governors?” Adams asked.

    “The Miyetti Allah would call the executive to meeting. So as a leader, as a chief security officer, you must took the bull by the horn and if he did not give that notice they won’t allow the governor to ban open grazing.”

    He said the insecurity in the north-west and north-east would not be allowed in the Yoruba land, adding that Yorubaland is the commercial hub of the country.

    “We cannot allow what is happening in the north-east, north-west, even in the middle-belt to happen in Yoruba land,” he said.

    “Don’t forget that Yoruba land is the commercial hub of this country, the economic nerve of this country. So, the federal government must know the implication of security threat in Yoruba land.”

     

  • Nigeria cannot have a new constitution – Omo-Agege

    Nigeria cannot have a new constitution – Omo-Agege

    Those agigating for a brand new Constitution in Nigeria may have to perish the thought as the National Assembly lacks the powers to do so, Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has said.

    Speaking when he hosted members of Alliance of Nigerian Patriots in Abuja, Omo-Agege who chairs the Senate Adhoc Committee on Constitution Review, stressed that the National Assembly has no powers to replace the current Constitution but can only amend same.

    The delegation was led by Ambassador Umunna Orjiako.

    Citing advanced democracies like the United States of America where Nigeria’s presidential system of government is fashioned after as well as Sections 8 and 9 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the lawmaker said what is obtainable is piecemeal alteration of the Constitution.

    He, therefore, urged those calling for a brand new Constitution to channel their energy towards participating actively in the ongoing amendment of the Constitution by the Ninth Assembly.

    He said: “One of the issues you raised is the replacement of the 1999 Constitution. I am not so sure that we as a Parliament have the power to replace the Constitution. We can only make amendments. And it is explicit in Sections 8 and 9 of the Constitution on how we can do that and the requisite number of votes required.

    “I say that because there are some top attorneys in this country, who for some reason, keep saying that we don’t even need any of this, that we should just bring a new Constitution. We can’t do that.

    “What we are mandated to do by law is to look at those provisions and bring them up-to-date with global best practices, especially to the extent that it tallies with the views of the majority of Nigerians. So we are not in a position to replace this Constitution but we can only amend.

    “But, like I said, most of the issues you have raised here, like zones replacing states, that’s another euphemism for going back to the regions. We will look into that if that is what majority of our people want.

    “You talked about devolution of powers. The preponderance of views we have received so far is that those 68 items are very wide and need to shed some weight and move them to the Concurrent Legislative List”.

    He also expressed his opinion on the call by some persons for the scrapping of the upper legislative chamber.

    According to him, the country cannot practise unicameral legislature considering its large population.

    “One of the issues raised by #EndSARS Protesters was that they should abolish the Senate and merge us with the House of Representatives. We are not in a position to do that. Mr. President is not even in a position to do that as well. Because they believe that he can just by fiat say ‘Senate bye bye. it will now be a National Assembly made up of only the House of Representatives’.

    “But, as I said at a different forum, the President does not have such powers and I am not so sure that even we can legislate out the National Assembly,” he said.

    He continued: “There are people who believe that yes, we had the 2014 confab report that has been ‘transmitted’ to the National Assembly and there is the El-Rufai Report on Restructuring, 2018, that has been transmitted to the National Assembly and that we should just take them to Mr President for his assent and we have the Constitution amended.

    “But that is not how things are done here. We are a country governed by laws and the grundnorm is the Constitution. And the Constitution itself has spelt out what we can do and how we can do it”.

    Concluding, he tasked the group to reach out to other stakeholders across the country.

    Earlier, Ambassador Orjiakor called for the reconfiguration of the present 36 states structure into six zones as federating units, drastic cut in the Exclusive Legislative List and expansion of the Concurrent Legislative List, reform of the National Assembly to a hybrid Presidential and Westminster systems, abolition of security votes to be replaced by regular security budget allocations and electoral reforms to ensure a truly independent INEC.

    He also called for limited immunity for entitled public officers in the Executive branch of government, provision for independent candidacy in all elections, creating a consensual balance between meritocracy and federal character among others.

    Legislators who joined the Deputy President of the Senate to receive the guests include Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Saabi Yau.

  • Northern elders tags senate’s plan to review 1999 Constitution is a waste of time

    Northern elders tags senate’s plan to review 1999 Constitution is a waste of time

    The Northern Elders’ Forum, NEF, has declared that the recent publication by the Senate ad-hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is of no value.

    It described it as a waste of time, resources and energy of the nation.

    The NEF suggested that “the exercise should not be supported by any Nigerian genuinely concerned by waste in governance at this difficult time when the economy is facing unprecedented challenges.”

    The NEF Director, Publicity and Advocacy, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, in a statement made available to DAILY POST on Sunday said, “Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) has taken note of the published invitation by the Senate ad-Hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to the public to submit Memorandum to assist the further alteration of the provisions of the Constitution(as amended).

    “The announcement gives all Nigerians two weeks to submit their memoranda on all aspects of the current constitution.

    “The Forum is convinced that this initiative of the Senate is of no value and a predictably waste of time, resources and energy of the nation, and should not be supported by any Nigerian genuinely concerned by waste in governance at this difficult time when the economy is facing unprecedented challenges.”

    The statement noted that virtually every National Assembly since 1999 had spent huge amounts of Nigerian people’s money on jamborees that gave them false hope that the three arms of government respect genuine desire of Nigerians for a holistic and genuine review and amendment of the 1999 Constitution.

    “Nothing fundamental or of any value has come out of these grand schemes to exploit our collective desire to address our political and economic fundamentals.This National Assembly is also following suit, and it should not be encouraged on this path,” the NEF regretted.

    It explained that Nigeria’s future rests largely on its willingness to address major constraints to equity and justice, adding that a functional structure, consistent good governance, security for all citizens, growing understanding between and among all groups and an economy that grows and narrows inequalities between and classes and regions.

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    It said this cannot be achieved by a process that routinizes massive expenditures around false hopes.

    The legislature and the executive branches of government, according to the statement, had large quantities of reviews, recommendations and reports from past attempts at amending the Constitutions.

    “These represent enough resources for a review if the legislature is serious about this vital national priority. Even this is not likely to produce a genuine effort to address the basic requirements of securing a stable, secure and prosperous Nigeria, because both arms of this administration are unlikely to accept to put through a wide-ranging review of the Constitution,” it explained.

    “The Northern Elders Forum recommends the alternative of leaders of thought, elders, groups and professional organizations and representatives of government to freely discuss every element of our co-existence as a country under principles of voluntarism, genuine representation and utmost mutual respect of the process.

    “A Nigerian Peoples’ Conference on Review of the Constitution will benefit from past work in this direction and contemporary challenges the country needs to address in a context that allows free expression without pre-determined ends.

    “The outcome of this Conference should be submitted to the two arms of government which may arrange and fund a referendum on the recommendations of the Conference for Nigerians to decide on how they want their nation to be structured and function,” the forum advised.

    The forum advised the National Assembly to direct its energy towards convincing President Muhammadu Buhari to bring an end to the insurgency in the North East and killings in other parts of the country.