Towards a credible, all-inclusive Constitution

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1999 Constitution News

Dr. Monday Ubani,HURIWA,Malcolm Omirhobo

Attempts by previous sessions of the Senate to alter provisions of the 1999 Constitution ahead of election cycles, and the fresh amendment debate that follow afterwards all underscore the seemingly intractable deficiencies in the document.

But stakeholders reckon that developing a new Constitution that would emanate from the inputs of various ethnic nationalities will halt the endless alteration debacle, SILVER NWOKORO reports.

This Constitution shares power between the central government and component units such as states and local councils that form the federation. According to critics, the flaws have been the reason for the current level of acrimony and lack of mutual trust across the country. For instance, nepotism ranks high in the government’s list of malfeasance, as the Constitution states that the composition and conduct of affairs of government shall reflect federal character to promote national unity and also to command national loyalty.

However, many are simply not interested in the endless circus, hence their clamour for a fresh Constitution. Vexed by the simplistic underrating of the national Constitution and for the obvious fact that members of each session of the national legislature since 1999 have often seen Constitutional amendment as a trading commodity whereby the committee members share generous sitting allowances and gallivant all over the nooks and crannies of the nation at massive expenses to Nigeria, Onwubiko proposed a legislation to halt the amendments of the constitution after the ongoing amendment by the 10th...

According to him, the first attempt at amending the 1999 Constitution failed woefully in the 5th National Assembly under the chairmanship of former Deputy Senate President, Ibrahim Mantu, and Deputy Speaker, Austin Okpara. “Chief among the failed attempts was the provision stripping the president of the power to sign the Constitution amendments, which is required for them to become law.”

“They will allocate money for the amendment, which is what is going on presently, yet those amendments come as a result of people’s reaction to some of the provisions of the Constitution. Some have been successfully amended, some are yet to be amended. But the one that usually does not have a problem with the amendment is the one that affects the political elites. Anything that has to do with them, like elections, they always quickly amend without having any issues even at the state level.

Dr. Monday Ubani HURIWA Malcolm Omirhobo

 

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