Call For New Constitution Faces Opposition From Okorie And Yagbagi

The recent demand for a new Constitution by The Patriots, a coalition of prominent Nigerians, has sparked varied reactions. Led by former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the group met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last Friday to request the establishment of a national constituent assembly tasked with drafting a new Constitution.

In a telephone interview with the Nigerian Tribune, Chief Chekwas Okorie, a chieftain of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), expressed concerns about the financial burden of drafting a new Constitution. He suggested that President Tinubu should instead review the 2014 National Constitutional Conference report, which contains significant recommendations for implementation.

Okorie stated, “Well, it is commendable that eminent Nigerians cutting across all sections of the country are pressing for a Constituent Assembly to produce a new Constitution, which the President is expected to accept and present as an Executive Bill to incorporate a referendum. It is a good thing, but considering the situation we are now in, the economic downturn demands that we focus on projects that will take us out of the woods. I will suggest a small Committee, not the large gathering, to review the 2014 Conference Report. That Committee will only review that report. That will save us a lot of money. The 2014 Conference cost us N7 billion under former President Goodluck Jonathan. What The Patriots are proposing will only keep Nigerians busy. In terms of cost and reality of our present situation, we don’t need that large number.”

Similarly, Engineer Yagbagi Sani, National Chairman of the Action Democratic Party and former National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, dismissed the proposal for a new Constitution as “dead on arrival.” In an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, Sani argued that the current 1999 Constitution is not the problem, but rather its implementation.

He remarked, “It is dead on arrival because you know that there is a National Assembly where these things can be discussed. If the present Constitution isn’t working, how do we make it work? Why is the presidential system working in other places? It isn’t about the Constitution but the people. What happened to the 2014 National Conference? I think they just want to divert our attention. All we need to do is to make the system work. That’s my take. I don’t have confidence in any national conference. There is no Constitution anywhere in the world that works perfectly. Amendments are already taking place. We don’t need to waste taxpayers’ money.”