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Afenifere criticizes constitutional review as “cosmetic”, “unrealistic”
Dr. Akin Fapohunda, the Director of Research for the Afenifere Group, has harshly criticized the Federal Government’s ongoing constitutional amendment process, labelling it as “cosmetic,” “unrealistic,” and “a waste of national energy.”
Appearing on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Dr. Fapohunda argued that the government’s plan to amend the constitution in approximately 74 places and alter 83 clauses within a six-month period is unworkable and shows a lack of serious intent to resolve Nigeria’s deep-rooted structural issues.
READ ALSO: Afenifere to Tinubu: You’ve failed woefully, 2027 not for you
He questioned the practicality of the plan, stating: “What the Federal Government wants to do is to amend the Constitution in about 74 places, change 83 clauses. Do they have the capacity to do that in the next six months before the next election?” he asked. “Do the 36 state assemblies have the brain to process 70-something bills in the next 3–6 months? The whole system is just headed for the garbage can. You cannot do it.”
Last month, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, hinted at the process during a National Public Hearing held in Abuja to review the 1999 Constitution.
“Today in Abuja, we held the National Public Hearing on the Review of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Our proposals reflect Nigeria’s diversity and complexity, but few are as transformative as those promoting inclusive governance,” Abbas tweeted on his personal X handle.
Abbas committed that the House would make every effort to successfully amend the constitution, following failed attempts by previous assemblies.
He stated: “As Speaker, I pledge that we will take your contributions seriously and consider the bills with diligence, fairness, and urgency,” he stated.
“We will engage the State Assemblies respectfully and transparently to secure their concurrence.
“We would continue to work with the executive and with you, the people, to ensure that the amendment process proceeds smoothly,” he said.
However, Dr. Fapohunda further accused political elites of using the process for their personal gain. He suggested proposals, such as the creation of 46 new states, are primarily motivated by a desire for new security votes and increased access to public funds.
He commented on the motives: “They want to create 46 new states so there will be security votes for the governors; there will be money to buy SUVs, all of them want to be governors in these states,” he stated. “Maybe I’m being uncharitable, but they’ve given us enough reason to believe they are not serious. The little things they are putting there are just cosmetics; they are of no use.”
He also rejected the idea of state police under the current structure, arguing that Nigeria requires full decentralisation instead.
“What is state police? The call needs to be decentralized entirely,” he said.
Dr. Fapohunda then presented a practical roadmap for meaningful reform, outlining four fundamental constitutional changes that he believes could “transform Nigeria radically within six months.”
He explained his primary proposal: “The first thing is to codify a true federal constitution, separate the Abuja constitution from the second tier of government. We must have two distinct constitutions,” he explained.
“The six geopolitical zones should serve as the second-tier base of governance, each with its own constitution reflecting its peculiarities.”
He added that the existing 68 items on the Exclusive Legislative List should be reduced to 12, with the remaining 46 items being devolved to the geopolitical zones.
He outlined the next steps: “After that, we can set up a referendum panel and present the draft before Nigerians for discussion within three to four months,” he said. “Abuja has no business with roads, schools, or hospitals, only with foreign relations, passports, and currency. Even the military structure should be decentralised across the geopolitical zones.”
According to him, these reforms would ease tensions, empower the regions to manage their resources, and restore balance to the federal structure.
He concluded: “Once that happens, the temperature will drop. The North will control their gold, the South-West their IT, the South-South their oil, and people will stop fighting to control Abuja,” he said.
Dr. Fapohunda concluded by stating that President Bola Tinubu’s current governing approach is flawed, asserting that “he is pretending to run Nigeria just from Abuja,” instead of promoting genuine federalism that empowers all regions equally.
A Rivers High Court sitting in Oyigbo Local Government Area has stepped into the escalating political crisis in the state, issuing an interim injunction that temporarily halts further action on the impeachment process against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Nma-Odu.
In a ruling delivered in Port Harcourt, the court restrained the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, alongside thirty-two other defendants — including the Clerk of the House and the Chief Judge of Rivers State—from taking steps aimed at advancing the impeachment process.
Specifically, the order barred the Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, from receiving, forwarding, considering, or acting on any request, resolution, or impeachment-related document from the Assembly for the purpose of constituting an investigative panel, pending the determination of the matter. The injunction is to subsist for seven days.
In the two suits—marked OYHC/7/CS/2026 and OYHC/6/CS/2026—the court also granted the claimants leave to serve the interim order and other originating processes on the first to the thirty-first defendants by pasting them at the gate of the Rivers State Assembly quarters.
The court also directed that the Chief Judge, listed as the 32nd defendant, be served through any staff of the judiciary at his chambers within the court premises.
Justice Fiberesima thereafter adjourned the matter to January 23, 2026, for hearing of the motion on notice, as the legal battle over the impeachment move shifts from the political arena to the courtroom.
On Friday, the Rivers State House of Assembly had called on the Chief Judge of the state to set up a panel to investigate the allegations of gross misconduct against Governor Fubara and his deputy.
The assembly members, who made the call through a unanimous vote, vowed to continue with the impeachment process.
The lawmakers had earlier addressed a press conference in Port Harcourt, where they accused Fubara of allegedly using blackmail.
Addressing journalists, the deputy speaker, Dumle Maol, claimed Fubara lacked the trust needed to address the crisis rocking the oil-rich state.
They accused the governor of infringing on the 1999 Constitution, saying the parliament was left with no other choice but to apply their legislative power by impeaching him from office.
The lawmakers also claimed the governor and his deputy had resorted to intimidating the parliament.
They, however, thanked President Bola Tinubu for wading into the crisis.
The members also called on the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, to reconvene the House.
Their position came weeks after they initiated an impeachment process against Fubara and Odu. The lawmakers are accusing them of gross negligence, a move that has heightened political tension in the coastal state.
No amount of intervention or pleading will mitigate the case of Siminalayi Fubara at this stage regarding the determination to impeach him, members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, vowed on Friday, as they opened a new chapter in the ongoing onslaught against the state governor.
Against the backdrop of what appeared like a lull when they failed to sit on Thursday for the same purpose, the members on their return, hinged the blame to go on with the action on the alleged intransigence of Fubara to retrace his step.
For this reason, the called on the state Chief Judge to set up the panel of investigation to look into the allegations of gross misconduct levied against Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu.
Conveying their decision which came in form of a unanimous vote, the assembly members, who vowed to continue with the impeachment process, stressed that no amount of intimidation, blackmail or intervention would stop them this time – the third in the impeachment approach, which was first initiated in November 2023.
Dumle Maol, Deputy Speaker, had earlier told reporters that Fubara lacked the trust needed to address the crisis rocking the oil-rich state, accusing him of multiple infringement on the 1999 Constitution, which left the house with no other choice but to apply their legislative power.
Accusing the governor and his deputy of resorting to intimidation of the parliament, including the dropping of the name of President Bola Tinubu, they thanked the President for wading into the crisis in order to find a solution, but regrated that his efforts were stalled by the same Fubara.
If Peter Obi had mobilised Nigerians against those who rigged him out of the presidential election in 2023, his mandate given to him by the electorate would have been intact and he would have been President today.
This was the contention of Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, who ran with the former Governor of Anambra State, as vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, where Obi was the presidential candidate.
Datti-Ahmed, in an interview currently going viral on social media, told his hosts that anyone seeking to defeat President Bola Tinubu must not rely on the court process but resistance, using Nigerians as was done in the June 12, 1993 election saga against the military.
The outing on Nigeria Right Now, uploaded on YouTube on Thursday, quoted the politician, formerly Senator representing Kaduna Central at the National Assembly, as stating that he made this much clear to Obi, that the judiciary could not resolve the fundamental breaches of the constitution perpetrated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last elections.
Hear him: “I told Peter Obi – Supreme Court cannot give you governor and give you presidency. For God’s sake, stand up and do something. The Nigerian Constitution was clearly breached.
“The Nigerian constitution was clearly breached; section 134 2b. It couldn’t be any clearer. Now, if it was June 12 people, and you breached not just the constitution but just one punctuation in their interest, I swear to God, nobody will sleep. They will take it.
“As much as I dislike the fact that they are using the Nigerian constitution, you must give it to them; they fight for their interest. They can organise rallies and can keep it up for three decades. And you are saying, ‘Let’s go to court; let’s go to court.’
“Whoever is going to defeat Tinubu must be ready to, I will use the word, ‘red eye’. You must show your red eyes because on that day that they are declaring the results, the people declaring fake results are criminals, and those who are stopping the declaration of fake results are good citizens. Whoever is going to defeat Tinubu must show red eyes… there’s no going to court.”
In the 2003 Anambra governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Chris Ngige of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) the winner, but Obi, candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), challenged the result and was later affirmed governor by the court of appeal in March 2006.
Similarly, in 2023, Obi challenged Tinubu’s victory, the APC presidential candidate, but his appeal was dismissed up to the supreme court level.
Court halts move to impeach Fubara *Orders CJ to tarry on panel
Impeachment: Do your job, Rivers assembly tells CJ *Insist Fubara must go
Rigging: I warned Obi that judicial option in 2023 won’t work – Datti
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