News
Millions of amendments, can’t redeem Nigeria’s constitution – Ozekhome
Only a total abandonment for a new document where all Nigerians would join in making its constitution will redeem the flaws in the polity caused by the faulty one currently in operation in the country, Mike Ozekhome, foremost constitutional lawyer, said on Monday.
Ozekhome Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), argued that left the way it is, not even a million amendments would transform it into a workable document that would serve the purpose of the people, because of its defects.
A guest of The Morning Show, a breakfast programme on ARISE NEWS television, argued that the current constitution, remained an “illegitimate document,” because it was not a product of the people, but that of the military, adding that the introduction – we the people – was fraudulent.
Hear him: “The issue is not about amending the constitution. I have said again and again that you cannot amend a bad document. A bad, illegitimate document that never proceeded from the people through a popular plebiscite or referendum can never be the product of the people.
“I have said it again and again, that even one million amendments to the present constitution cannot solve it. We are still talking about constitutional amendment when we should be talking about introducing a brand-new constitution that reflects our diversity as a nation, reflects our multi-religious linguistic inclination.”
Ozekhome, who dismissed ongoing constitutional amendments by the National Assembly, as a distraction, stressed that even a million changes would be meaningless unless Nigeria started afresh with a truly people-driven process, adding that a complete reset – what he described as a tabula rasa – similar to a symbolic cleansing, was the only way to go.
“What we need, is a total beginning, a fresh beginning, like from a tabula rasa, like Naaman the leper that dipped himself in River Jordan seven times and became cleansed of his leprosy.
“The present constitution, apart from its original sin, like that of Adam, of being a product of a military dictator, through the promulgation of the decree number 24 of 1999, apart from the fact that the constitution is actually a schedule attached to a decree, which therefore told a lie about itself in his preamble by saying ‘we the people’ of Nigeria do hereby make and give to ourselves the following constitution. Apart from that original sin, the present constitution, no matter the amendments, cannot take us forward.
“It cannot take us forward because one, it operates a unitary system of government. All the provisions, not a federal system of government. Two, it dispossesses the people of their economic, social, political, and cultural rights. Three, it is too heavy, on the side of wastages and leakages, which makes Nigeria today use about 70 per cent to 80 per cent of our national resources, to service recurrent expenditure and public debts, thus leaving only 20 per cent to 30 per cent for capital expenditure.
“No nation can grow like that. We are not going to grow like that. So, when we are talking about a constitution like this being amended, you are really pursuing shadows where you should pursue substance. What for example, are we doing with 109 senators and 360 House of Representative members? Do you know the senate has over 45 committees? Each committee is fully staffed with members, with employees.
“We have a system where one position has accretions up to 10. Thus, we have an SSA, Senior Special Assistant, after a Special Advisor, Senior Special Assistant, then Special Assistant, then Personal Assistant. Do you know how many ministries we are operating? Well over 40 ministries.”
Seriake Dickson, National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Wednesday showcased Peter Obi, its presidential candidate in the 2027 election, but gave a proviso – his importance would not be at the expense of the party.
A guest on Prime Time, a public affairs programme on ARISE NEWS Television, the former Governor of Bayelsa State, now Senator representing West at the National Assembly, maintained that the belief in some quarters that Obi’s entrance into the party was a favour was completely misplaced.
Instead, he argued that the opposite was the case, as it was the party that was doing its candidates a favour by giving them the opportunity to contest elective positions on its platform in the 2027 elections, a gesture that ought to be returned.
Hear him: “Don’t make it look like anyone is doing NDC a favour. No one is. Rather, the NDC and I and my colleagues are doing people a favour by granting our platform. If you are genuinely supporting Peter Obi and you are disparaging me, the leader, or the platform itself. That is nonsensical.”
Stressing that NDC had demonstrated confidence in Obi by adopting Obi as its sole presidential candidate and selecting a vice-presidential candidate without internal disputes, he said it was enough to earn its leadership the gratitude it deserved.
He added: “Nobody paid shishi. So, if a presidential candidate didn’t pay shishi to be made the sole presidential candidate and sole vice-presidential candidate, that same party cannot be the one saying that small people are underprivileged.
“I could have run. There’s no one more qualified than me. There’s no one more qualified than me to run for presidential candidate. None. There is no crisis within the NDC. Peter Obi is a cherished member of our party. On our own, we have made him a presidential candidate. Sole presidential candidate. And that counts for something. We are working well together. There’s no crisis.”
Invoking its zero tolerance on issues of security breaches, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has clamped down on aircraft and crew of the privately operated jet that landed on a roadway in the Ogwashi-Uku area near Asaba, Delta state.
Even with regulatory body for airline operations in Nigeria informed that no casualties were recorded in the incident, it still went for its sanctions in line with its sworn position of maintaining maximum safety at every point.
In a statement on Wednesday, Michael Achimugu, its spokesman said preliminary reports indicated that the aircraft conducted a missed approach while attempting to land at Asaba airport at about 7:43am.
Achimugu: Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, said: “Reports received from personnel at the scene indicate that all occupants safely exited the aircraft and were transported to Asaba by road,” Achimugu said. The aircraft had four (4) crew members on board. At this time, no injuries to passengers or crew have been reported.
“Preliminary information available to the authority indicated that the aircraft later departed the location and returned to Lagos without obtaining the required regulatory approval. Air traffic control was informed only after the aircraft had become airborne.”
Stressing that the action constitutes a violation of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) and is currently under investigation by the authority, he said the NCAA immediately grounded the aircraft upon its arrival in Lagos pending the outcome of investigations.
He added: “The flight crew have been placed under regulatory review while the NCAA conducts further inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the occurrence and the subsequent unauthorised departure of the aircraft.
“The NCAA has formally notified the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) of the occurrence and is coordinating with relevant aviation stakeholders, including the operator and the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”
Stating that the NCAA immediately suspended the operator’s permit for non-commercial flight (PNCF), he added that the authority would review all operational, airworthiness, maintenance and flight-related records as part of its statutory responsibilities and take further enforcement action in accordance with applicable aviation regulations.
Achimugu said the NCAA remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of aviation safety, security, and regulatory compliance within the Nigerian aviation sector.
Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Wednesday, swore to the integrity of the process that led to his picking the party’s ticket, saying it remained untainted and consistent with the wills of the members.
Against the backdrop of the insistence of Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), that he stole the ticket by corrupting the process, Atiku, Vice President between 1999 and 2007, pooh-poohed the claim.
Before the former SGF Rotimi Amaechi, former Governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transportation as well as Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former Chairman of Nigeria Economic Summit Group, both candidates in the contest for the ADC ticket, had rejected the process as flawed, even before the outcome.
Lawal, who had earlier announced his resignation from the ADC a fortnight ago and made sundry allegations of gaming the system against Atiku, had doubled down on Monday, while appearing on Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, claiming he personally monitored the exercise and had evidence that the primary was rigged.
Hear him: “Don’t forget I was the National Vice Chairman (North-East). I was in the field during the exercise, so I have evidence. Atiku’s people are the ones trying to deny what they did. We are all human beings. We know what they did. I knew the primary was rigged at the point it was being done and the results declared.”
Regardless that neither Amaechi nor Hayatu-Deen had recanted their original position Atiku, insisted that nothing was amiss, adding that his opponents actually won in the areas of their individual popularity and stronghold.
Conveying his position through Phrank Shaibu, his spokesman, who appeared as a guest on Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television, the former VP said: “Anybody who claims rigging or irregularity in the last election should check the places and locations they won. Where are the states that Rotimi Amaechi won? If you check the figures and the margins he got there, you will know that those are his strongholds. It was not a fraudulent process.
Maintaining that the burden of proving any fraud rested on the former SGF Shaibu, Shaibu depicted his boss as the most popular among the contestants, arguing that the outcome of the event should not be surprising to anybody.
He said of the ex-SGF: “Babachir reminds me of a baby who is yanked off her mother’s breast while suckling. It is like a deprived suckling; definitely the baby will throw tantrums. He admitted on your show that his preferred candidate was Hayatu-Deen. He worked for him.”
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