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‘Restructuring must be based on national ethics’

By Seye Olumide and Benjamin Alade
31 January 2019   |   4:10 am
A former Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Christopher Kolade has stressed the need for Nigeria to consider...

Dr. Christopher Kolade

A former Nigeria High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr. Christopher Kolade has stressed the need for Nigeria to consider national ethics as embedded in section 23 of the 1999 constitution, if it must restructure.

According to him, restructuring must be regarded as the only aspect of what we need to get in the Nigeria that we are looking for.

He said Section 23 of the constitution reads: “The national ethics shall be discipline, integrity, dignity of labour, social, justice, religious tolerance, self-reliance and patriotism.”

Kolade gave these assertions yesterday at the roundtable meeting organised by a think-thank group, Voice of Reason (VOR) in Lagos for national and state assembly aspirants from the southwest.

Eminent Yoruba leaders who attended the forum were founder, Elizade University, Chief Micheal Adeojo, Presidential candidate of Kowa Party, Mr. Shina Fagbenro, and Executive Director of Aflon Digital Institute, Kuje, Abuja, Dr. Akin Fapohunda.

They called on the Federal Government to set machineries in motion to give the country a new constitution that will be fair to all ethnic nationalities and geo-political zones.

They described the current constitution as a vehicle without engine, which if not urgently reviewed or out-rightly repelled, will lead the country to a developmental retrogression.

According to the leaders, the federal character principles, as currently stipulated in the 1999 Constitution, has been eroded with merit jettisoned by those saddled with instrumentalities of power to promote ethnic favouritism.

Kolade, said the restructuring of the nation’s political sphere is very germane and imperative to bringing the country back to her right pact.

“Nigeria needs a constitution that will enthrone characters embedded with discipline and integrity to drive the pact of social justice so that the nation can be self-reliance in all areas of development,” Kolade said.
Calling on political leaders to promote national unity, Kolade said,

“A representative is an agent of the electorates and thus, owned the mandates, therefore, the people must be respected and their interest must be jealously protected,” they noted.

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