Daily Independent (Lagos)
Otei Oham, Festus Owete and Adetutu Folasade-Koy
21 November 2008
Abuja — After months of dilly dally, the review of the Constitution has got off the ground in Abuja loaded with promises, including transparency and fairness, in dealing with agitations ranging from state creation to derivation formula.
Senate President, David Mark, on Thursday inaugurated the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review (JCCR), chaired by his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, who is supported by 87 other lawmakers.
Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Olisa Agbakoba, quickly urged the public not to entertain fears over the review once the minimum requirements for acceptance are met, an opinion supported by NBA Second National Vice President, Adekunle Ojo, who demanded an inclusive Constitution.
Agbakoba sought wide consultation, Ojo canvassed a Constitution that meets the yearnings of all marginalised Nigerians such as women and the disabled.
In that wise, Ekweremadu pledged that the exercise will be transparent, devoid of any hidden agenda, and stressed that with the backing of President Umaru Yar'Adua, the Committee will address all knotty clauses.
"Not once, not twice, but severally (Yar'Adua) has expressed his desire to have the grey areas in the Constitution amended. We want to assure (him) that this will happen in his term," he pledged.
Ekweremadu spoke partly in reaction to the claim of The Patriots that the current National Assembly lacks the competence to review or amend the Constitution.
He assured that the panelists are determined to update the Constitution to help strengthen the electoral process, which is "a source of worry to Mr. President, a source of concern to the National Assembly and, in deed, to our constituents.
"The media, the civil society and the international community are in one accord in calling for a reform of our electoral system to deliver credible elections.
"It is important to point out that our electoral system is rooted heavily in our Constitution. Therefore, it is this effort at Constitution review that will ultimately address those concerns. They will be satisfactorily addressed, by the grace of God, before the next general election.
"Electoral reform and all the other issues already identified in the past, and those that will be identified in this exercise, will engage us in the months ahead."
Mark referred to the 120 clauses for amendment in the last exercise that failed because it schemed to elongate the tenure of Olusegun Obasanjo as President.
"The Constitution, as we all agree, is not a perfect document. It is neither a product of plebiscite, referendum, nor a national conference," he recalled.
"It was bequeathed to us in 1999 by the departing military, and promulgated into law by military fiat. The Constitution review failed because of the acrimony engendered principally by the proposal for tenure elongation, otherwise known as third term.
"It also failed because that report proposed, in one fell swoop, a basket of 120 amendments."
House of Representatives Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, reiterated that Section 9 of the Constitution empowers the legislature to review it when the need arises.
He canvassed the support of all interest groups to achieve the goal, and requested the public to make inputs that would facilitate good governance.
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