Concerns as demand for new constitution persists after N33.8b expenditure on amendments, conference

• Stakeholders Split Over Fresh Calls For Constituent Assembly
• NASS Rules Out New Constitution Outside Its Purview

Ten years after some 500 delegates, drawn from all parts of the country and representing diverse interests, concluded a five-month deliberation about the political system and future of Nigeria, where they passed more than 600 resolutions and produced a 10,335-page report, which was submitted to former president Goodluck Jonathan for implementation, calls for the convocation of another national jaw-jaw is resonating in the country.

Although various individuals and interest groups had on different occasions harped on the need to restructure Nigeria through far-reaching constitutional reforms since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office, the recent visit by The Patriotsto the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during which they asked him to immediately constitute a constituent assembly with a view to producing a people-oriented draft constitution, has given verve to the proposal.

However, coming at a time Nigeria is dealing with serious economic challenges, which precipitated the recent 10-day #Endbadgovernance protests in some parts of the country, the call by The Patriots is generating concerns among stakeholders.

Led by elder statesman and former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, The Patriots had urged the President to initiate an executive bill to the National Assembly for approval of the constituent assembly to be constituted.

Anyaoku said: “We put some proposals to Mr. President and we urged him to send a president’s executive bill to the National Assembly, a bill that will call for two essential measures.

“One, the convening of a national constituent assembly to be mandated to produce a new draft constitution. We suggested that such a national constituent assembly should consist of individuals elected by the people on non-party basis.

“For example, three individuals per state, per each of the 36 states and one from the Federal Capital Territory and they should be mandated to produce a new draft constitution. We also suggested that in the bill, the National Assembly should be asked to legislate for a national referendum because as our laws stand at the moment, we have no provision for a national referendum.

“We concluded by saying that the draft constitution to emerge from the constituent assembly should be subjected to the national referendum in order to give the peoples of Nigeria a chance to determine the new constitution.”

The group blamed the constitution for the #Endbadgovernance protests that rocked the country and suggested a new constitution as the solution to the current hardships.

For The Patriots, the challenges of national unity, insecurity, poverty and hunger necessitate setting up a constituent assembly with the mandate to produce a new constitution.

To them, the new constitution can be realised between six to nine months if the National Assembly passes the bill and the constituent assembly is convened.

Responding to the request by the group, President Tinubu said: “I am currently preoccupied with economic reform. That is my first priority. Once this is in place, as soon as possible, I will look at other options, including constitutional review as recommended by you and other options.”

However, the presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in the 2019 general election, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, disagreed with the President’s response, insisting that his search for a solution to the economic crisis in the country can only be found in the proposed new constitution. He advised the President to take urgent action and begin the process for a new constitution without further delay.

A former Director-General of Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) Lagos, Prof. Bolaji Akinterinwa, also believes that “the constitution is the starting point.”

He noted: “It is the foundation of the economic reforms. But the current constitution is a fraud. The constitution has a lot of contradictions. There can never be economic reforms without the right constitution. Economic reforms must be built on a new constitution and constitution reform, which is the grundnorm.”

Speaking in the same vein, former Chief of Staff to former Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, Prof. Gbade Ojo said: “In a plural and deeply divided country, the character of the constitution will determine economic productivity. New constitution or constitutional reform means restructuring, fiscal federalism and resource control. The new constitution and the right constitution will engender economic development, reforms, productivity and prosperity.”

The Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) insisted that corruption and related problems are getting worse because of failure to remove and alter impediments in the constitution against anti-corruption fight.

HEDA’s Executive Secretary, Sulaimon Arigbabu, said: “Corruption is Nigeria’s issue and the root of the country’s problem. We are in dire need of the constitutional review. A lot of the things happening are because there are lacunas in the constitution.

“All agencies are hindered by one thing or the other in that constitution. There are not enough provisions in the constitution to, at least, help to reduce corruption. It’s so unfortunate that those who have been saddled with the power to help make this happen are using such power to aid corruption rather than abate it.

“Some of the people whose corrupt cases were reported in the past have found their way into high offices in the country. Some have become governors, some have been appointed in high places, and these often happen because Nigerians tend to forget.”

However, the questions on the lips of many observers regarding that issue are: Can Nigeria foot the bill of another constitution making exercise at this time? Even if it can, should it indeed be the priority now?

Since democracy was restored in the country in 1999 and the drive for a ‘peoples constitution’ began, issues such as political restructuring, resource control, true federalism, devolution of power and re-jigging of the security architecture in the form of state police have been in public discourse.

Proponents of a new constitution argue that: “The exclusive list is too extensive, making the Federal Government overly powerful, while leaving the state governments with insufficient power. Like many other rigid federal constitutions, the decision-making process is slow due to numerous bureaucracies.

The Federal Character Principle contained in the constitution does not encourage meritocracy just as the immunity enjoyed by the president and the governors is often abused. The over-centralisation of power at the centre to the detriment of the constituent units and centralisation of the police, which hampers effective policing, are also part of the complaints against the constitution. The constitution failed to eliminate all vestiges of military rule.

However, these issues remain closer to the realm of rhetoric than reality. This is notwithstanding the fact that the country has spent no less than N33.8 billion since 1999 in search of constitution reforms through the National Assembly and the 2014 National Conference.

Available records show that every regime of the National Assembly since 1999 initiated a fresh constitution amendment project for which at least N4 billion was approved to be appropriated and released on the basis of N1 billion per year. This is in addition to some extra funds released to the committee for any unforeseen expenditure.

Findings showed that not less than N26.8 billion has been expended by the Senate and the House of Representatives on this perennial exercise, whose results don’t seem to satisfy the protagonists of constitutional reforms in the country.

Immediate past deputy president of the Senate, Victor  Ovie Omo-Agege, who was the chairman of the Senate’s Committee On Constitution Review in the Ninth National Assembly, had at the peak of his committee’s frustration, blamed the failure on state governors whom, he claimed, had refused to allow the state Houses of Assembly to endorse the 44 bills sent to them.

The failure was later confirmed by  the then Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, when they pleaded with the then Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State to beg his colleagues to allow the Houses of Assembly endorse the proposed alterations.

But the Houses of Assembly debunked the allegation of frustrating the constitution review exercise and accused the leadership of the National Assembly of resorting to blackmail after failing to carry them along on key issues for amendments.

Speaking through the Conference of State Assembly Speakers, the Houses said the National Assembly bluntly rejected the state police option, which they canvassed.

To successfully alter any section of the Constitution, at least 24 of the 36 Houses of Assembly must approve the bill to that effect with two-thirds majority.

Towards achieving broader, acceptable constitutional reforms, the Federal Government had in 2014 approved N7 billion to organise the national conference of that year. However, how much that was actually spent remains unclear till date as the conference was extended beyond its tenure to enable delegates complete their assignment.

Key recommendations from that national conference include: Scrapping the current system of 774 local authorities to save money and reduce corruption; creation of 18 new states – equally spread around the country; reduction in share of national revenue going to the Federal Government and increasing share for the states; modified presidential system of government that combines the presidential and parliamentary systems of government.

Others are rotation of political power at all levels of government. Presidency should rotate between north and south and among the six geo-political zones of the country. Likewise, the governorship post should rotate among the three senatorial zones in each state.

A decade after that report was submitted, it is still gathering dust in the government’s archives, giving rise to the concerns around constituting a constituent assembly at this critical time in the nation’s history.

The current constitution review committees headed by the Deputy President of the Senate, Jubrin Barau, and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, are facing the challenge of revisiting the age-long quests to separate the office of the attorney general of the federation/state from the office of minister/commissioner for justice; change in procedure for the enactment of an entirely new constitution, which includes referendum; inclusion of basic education and primary healthcare in fundamental and justiciable human rights.

Other issues requiring attention are the inclusion of electoral offences as a ground to disqualify candidates from future elections; mandatory presentation of the yearly state of the nation address to a joint session of the National Assembly by the president; and removal of presidential assent to constitution amendment bills.

Stakeholders including some elder statesmen, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and socio-cultural groups have expressed varied opinions on issues of constitution reforms as well as the fresh call for a constituent assembly.

An elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, who is also a member of The Patriots, cautioned the president on the call for constituent assembly

Yakasai, in a statement, emphasised the importance of broad consultations and careful consideration, warning that neglecting these steps could lead to national chaos and instability.

He expressed concern that “due process was not followed in articulating the views presented to the president,” stressing that a matter of such national significance demands inclusive deliberation and consensus among all founding members.

Yakasai argued that excluding key voices undermines the credibility and unity of the mission, insisting that decisions of this magnitude must be rooted in collective wisdom rather than rushed actions.

He further aligned with former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s view that Nigeria’s core issue is not the constitution itself but the character and attitude of those who operate it.

He asserted that without a change in the mindset and conduct of the country’s leaders, even the most-well-crafted constitution would fail to bring about the desired progress and stability.

He advised that efforts should be directed towards promoting ethical leadership, accountability, and civic responsibility among those in governance. According to him, only by addressing these fundamental issues can Nigeria hope to create a society that truly reflects the aspirations of its people.

Also, a constitutional lawyer and former Dean of the Faculty of Law at Bayero University Kano (BUK), Prof. Auwalu Hamisu Yadudu, told The Guardian that the problem with Nigeria is not the constitution but the operators, adding that, “for any change to the constitutional reformulation to be legitimate, it must be done in accordance with the existing legal and constitutional order. Any other contraption will be suspect.”

Yadudu said it is pertinent for Nigerians “to question the legal and democratic standing or claims of the The Patriots.

“Where do they derive their legitimacy or mandate to dictate to the vast majority of citizens on how to go about changing the extant constitutional order? We must recognise that any constitutional order or system in operation and nation-building is work in progress. It is never finished or sacrosanct.

“Consequently, nothing should prevent or preclude Nigerians from restructuring their polity, amending any existing constitutional provisions considered unworkable or even undesirable. However, for any such reworking or alteration of the fundamental document and restructuring of the polity to be legitimate or command our respect, the processes associated with it must conform to the constitutional litmus test. Otherwise, we risk taking the slippery slope path that may lead to chaos and disorder,” he said.

Also, former Secretary-General of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Dr. Kunke Olajide said: “In the last 15 or 20 years, Nigeria has had many constitutional conferences.  As things stand now, economic reforms should be the major issue.

There is hunger in the land. There is hardship.  Economic reforms should take preference over constitutional reform.”

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, the apex socio-cultural organisation, has also rejected the call for a national constituent assembly to address issues within the 1999 Constitution. Instead, they supported calls for the implementation of the 2014 National Conference recommendations and the 2005 National Political Conference, which advocated for additional states in the Southeast region.

In a statement signed by its Secretary General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, and made available to journalists, Ohanaeze urged President Tinubu to prioritise the implementation of the 2014 National Conference recommendations, which they believe will foster unity and progress.

Isiguzoro emphasised that convening another national conference would be ill-timed and insensitive given the country’s economic challenges.

Recall that many Nigerians spoke against the 2014 National Conference. In fact, former president Buhari, who later succeeded Jonathan, had noted: “I do not think that at this time when governments are finding it difficult to pay salaries of workers, it can afford about N7 billion to waste on a conference,” he said.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly has rejected moves to get a new constitution, particularly without its approval.

The two chambers said the federal legislature, as constituted, has all it takes to achieve a comprehensive review of the constitution.

Senate spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu, in an interview, said the process of reviewing the constitution has continued to receive serious support from the Senate leadership.

Also, the Speaker of the House Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, said that the constitution could only be amended in bits.

“While some citizens argue that the document should be entirely discarded, it is important to remember that democratic consolidation can only be incremental and gradual,” Abbas said.

Deputy president of the Senate, Jubrin Barau,  who is also the Chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Constitution Review, disclosed that the National Assembly will carry out the review of the constitution by a thorough aggregation of the yearnings of Nigerians from all walks of life through public hearings and collection of memoranda from various interest groups throughout the country, as well as embarking on a progressive engagement with state governments and legislatures and the Federal Government to achieve consensus on all issues.

Some past successful constitution amendment exercises include the financial autonomy of the National Assembly, which gave it the power to draw its funds directly from the federation account, otherwise known as the first-line charge.

Also, Sections 145 and 190 were amended successfully to compel the president/governor to transmit a letter to the National Assembly/State Assembly to enable their deputies to act whenever they proceed on vacation or are unable to discharge their functions.

Another amendment was the one that enables a person sworn in as president or governor to complete the term of an elected president or governor, but disqualifies the same person from election to the same office for more than one more term.

Sections 135 and 180 of the constitution were amended to straighten the remaining term of office of a president/governor who won a rerun election to include the period already spent in office.

Amendments to Sections 81, 84, and 160 of the constitution were also made to make the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) financially and administratively independent.

Section 156 of the constitution was amended to remove membership of a political party as a qualification for appointment into INEC, thereby insulating members from partisan politics.

Amendments were also effected to section 285 (5) to (8) to set time limits for the filing, hearing and disposal of election petitions to quicken justice, and Sections 76, 116, 132, and 178 to provide for a wider timeframe for the conduct of elections.

There were also alterations to section 285 and the Sixth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution to reduce the composition of tribunals to a chairman and two members and the quorum to just a chairman and a member were also successfully done.
Others include those on Sections 66(h), 137(i), and 182(i) to delete the disqualification of persons indicted by an administrative panel from standing for election.

The stipulation of timeframes for filing, adjudication and disposal of pre-election lawsuits in order to quicken justice was also amended, and the reduction of age qualification for political offices (Not Too Young to Run Bill).

Also amendments were made to Sections 134, 179 and 225 of the constitution to extend from seven to 21 days the period within which INEC shall conduct a run-off election between the two leading presidential/gubernatorial candidates.

Sections 6, 84, 240, 243, 287, 289, 292, 294, 295, 216, 318, the Third Schedule and Seventh Schedule to the constitution were amended and a new section 254 inserted to make the National Industrial Court a court of superior record and equal in status to the Federal High Court.

Before the end of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, other constitution alterations were effected including state assembly, judiciary independence amendments.

Other alterations approved by the president are the removal of the railway, prison and electricity from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list.

Others are the alteration to regulate the first session and inauguration of members-elect of the National and State Houses of Assembly; and for related matters; the alteration to delete the reference to the provisions of the Criminal Code, Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Act, Criminal Procedure Code or Evidence Act; and for related matters.

Also approved is the amendment to exclude the period of intervening events in the computation of time for determining pre-election petitions, election petitions and appeals; and for related matters; alteration to provide for the post-call qualification of the Secretary of the National Judicial Council; and for related matters;

The amendment to delete the item “prisons” in the Exclusive Legislative List and redesignate it as “Correctional Services” in the Concurrent Legislative List; and for related matters was also achieved. Another amendment to move the item “railways” from the Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List; and for related matters was successful too.

The constitution was also amended to allow states to generate, transmit and distribute electricity in areas covered by the national grid; and for related matters.

Also approved is the alteration to require the president and governors to submit the names of persons nominated as ministers or commissioners within 60 days of taking the oath of office for confirmation by the Senate or State House of Assembly; and for related matters.

Another Alteration was done to require the government to direct its policy towards ensuring the right to food and food security in Nigeria; and for related matters.