Presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, revealed the position of his principal, President Bola Tinubu, on the issue of a new Constitution when The Patriots, a group of elder statesmen, led by Chief Emeka Anyaoku, met him at the State House in Abuja....READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE ▶▶
“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,” Ngelale quoted the President as saying.
Anyaoku, a former Commonwealth Secretary-General, had appealed to Tinubu to send an Executive Bill to the National Assembly, proposing two measures: “The convening of a National Constituent Assembly with the mandate to produce a Draft People’s Democratic Constitution.
“The Constituent Assembly should be of directly elected individuals, on a non-political basis, from the 36 states of the federation, possibly three individuals per state, and one from the FCT.
“They should be assisted by seven constitutional lawyers, one drawn from each of the six geo-political zones and the FCT. The deliberations of the constituent assembly should take into full account the 1960/63 constitutions, as well as the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference and indeed of the various national conferences that considered the Nigerian constitutions.”
He also said The Patriots requested legislating for a national plebiscite to which the Draft Constitution emerging from the Constituent Assembly should be subjected.
“The Draft Constitution, produced by the Constituent Assembly, should be put to a national referendum and, if approved, should then be signed by the president as the genuine Nigerian People’s Constitution”.
Responding to these requests, Tinubu expressed his respect for The Patriots and their contributions to national discourse.
“I have listened to you carefully, and this is not a group that I can ignore. This is a group of patriots reflecting the heart and aspirations of society. I thank all of you for being here”, the president said, according to the spokesman.
“I have faced the challenge of this democracy that I inherited from your struggles. I must recognise the fact that these challenges are most required for good governance.
“We have no other choice, and I believe also that it is most difficult to manage the twists and turns of democratic governance.
“I want to assure all of you that as I listened to your two major requests on the path to referendum and that should lead to constitutional measures that will fit our diversity and governance so that we avoid conflicts and break-ups.
“I believe in the unity of this country and I want to assure you that whatever is necessary to put happiness and good governance in the hands of all Nigerians is what I would do,” the president said.
The president also noted that the clamour for constitutional reforms is a longstanding issue in national discourse.
He acknowledged the examples presented by the Patriots on pluralistic countries, such as Canada and India, which have maintained unity by addressing their diversity through their constitutions.
“The avoidance of chaos is necessary to build this country and move its aspirations forward for the benefit of all of us”, 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.
“The question is, how will Nigeria be governed constitutionally, legitimately without unnecessary aches and pains of its diversity and this needs to be addressed constitutionally, so that we can build a nation that we can proudly hand over a banner without stain to our children.
“As you present this, just believe that it will be reviewed, and I commit myself to the belief that you want a stable and prosperous Nigeria”.
