19th November, 2012
Efforts at amending the 1999 Constitution kick off across the country with public hearings
The current efforts at amending the 1999 Constitution to meet the yearnings of Nigerians gathered momentum with the various public hearings held across the country. The huge turnout at the town hall meetings highlighted the significance of the exercise and the hope that it would resolve the dynamic complexities of the nation. At the consultative meetings currently going on across the six geo-political zones, diverse issues including states creation, state police, and removal of immunity clause have so far dominated discussions. The exercise, which is separately being conducted by both chambers of the National Assembly, is expected to spur a consensus for a constitutional blueprint, which would ultimately transmute to the desired people-oriented grundnorm. While the House of Representatives has concluded its own, the Senate’s zonal People’s Session began across the country last Thursday.
However, contrary to agitations from many for a wholesale constitutional-making process, only piecemeal alterations would be done to the present document. Some of the areas earmarked for discussions are: devolution of powers, state creation, conferring constitutional recognition on the six geo-political zones, role of traditional rulers, fiscal federalism and boundary adjustments. Others are the removal from the constitution, of immunity clause, National Youth Service Corps, and Code of Conduct. Issues relating to the Nigeria Police, Judiciary, Executive, rotational presidency, gender and special group, residency and indigeneship, and mayoral status for the Federal Capital Territory, are also listed for deliberation.
In Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency 1, in Lagos State, the constituents agreed that about 28 items in the present constitution be changed, while 14 remain as they are. The hearing, which was coordinated by the representative of the constituency in the House of Representatives, Akinderu Fatai, resorted to voting on the issue of state police. The majority of the people opposed creation of state police, which they said would be abused by state governors, who may infringe on the people’s fundamental human rights.
For Ogun State, the town hall meeting was held at Ogbere, one of the towns under the Ijebu East/Ijebu North and Ogun Waterside Federal Constituency. Prominent among the attendees was the Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, who led his royal father colleagues and subjects to the meeting. Adetona, an unrelenting advocate for the creation of Ijebu State to be carved out of the present Ogun State, reiterated his demand. He explained that the request was for justice, fairness and equity, because of the old former colonial provinces in the country only Ijebu was not made a state. Speaking in the same vein, Ajalorun of Ijebu Ife, Oba Adesesan Afolorunso Oguntayo, said the proposed state would be economically viable and prosperous given the abundant human and natural resources in the Ijebu region. Professional bodies, civil society organisations and pressure groups, including the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and National Council for Women Societies, NCWS, made presentations at the forum.
At the parallel Senate’s People’s Session held in Ijebu-Ode last Monday, the Awori people of Ado/Ota Local Government Area, led by the Olota of Ota, Oba Alani Oloyede, appealed to the federal government to allow them to join their kinsmen in Lagos State. The monarch who has had a running battle with former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Olowu of Owu, Oba Sannya Gbadebo over the installation of coronet monarchs in his domain, said he and his people were no longer interested in being part of Ogun State.
In Enugu-North/ Enugu-South Federal Constituency, former Senate President, Ken Nnamani and former governor of Old Anambra State, Jim Nwobodo, were among the political notables at the forum that took time to address the participants. The forum, which was coordinated by the constituency’s representative, Ofor Chukwuegbo, had the creation of Adada State, which would be excised from the present Enugu State, as its most pressing topic. Indigenes of Yenagoa-Kolokuma-Opokuma federal constituency in Bayelsa State, were unanimous in their demand for 100 per cent resource control and fiscal federalism insofar as states were granted the power to control their resources. The event, which held at De-Price multi-purpose hall in Yenagoa, the capital of the state, witnessed a large crowd.
The impressive attendance of people at other public hearings was replicated at Aboh Mbaise-Ngor Okpala federal constituency of Imo State, where the Deputy Speaker of the House, Emeka Ihedioha presided over the meeting held at Mbutu Secondary School. Like their cousins in Enugu, they also asked for creation of state and financial autonomy for state houses of assembly, among the 18 issues they voted on.
For the indigenes of Obubra-Etung federal constituency, in Cross River State, an additional state for the South-East would jeopardise their chance of having Ogoja State, which they are also asking for. They also kicked against creation of state police. At another forum, which was coordinated by the House of Representatives member representing Ogoja/Yala federal constituency, Rose Oko, 43 items were listed for debate. The people called for a change to Section 8 of the Constitution to remove the ambiguities clogging easy processes for state creation. Oko told the people that “Ogoja and Ijebu-Ode are the only two provinces that are not yet states out of the 24 provinces that existed during the era of provincial government,” in a way that underscores its relevance to ongoing constitutional-making. In their submissions, the people voted for the creation of additional states, including Ogoja which they seek; removal of the immunity clause and approval of a six-year term limit for the President. They rejected state police as well as joint account for state and local governments, among other issues.
In Kano, the people overwhelmingly rejected state creation, state police and rotational presidency, saying that the three issues are not the immediate problems bedeviling socio-political growth in the country. It did not however come as a surprise to many, following an earlier allegation by Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso against the National Assembly’s joint review committee. Kwankwaso alleged that the committee had the predetermined agenda to create addition states for the South-East in order to weaken the state. A participant at the forum told this magazine that they rejected state police because it “would only add salt to the injury that we are faced with, in terms of security”. According to Alhassan Ado Doguwa, representing Tudun Wada/Doguwa Federal Constituency, “rotational presidency is undemocratic. There is no basis for any rotation in the presidency because we Nigerians are a united family. Let us continue in the sincerity of our co-existence”. The people were unhappy that Sharia was not listed as one of the issues to be decided upon. The people of Shira and Giade federal constituency of Bauchi State canvassed the creation of 12 additional states with two each in each geo-political zone and removal of immunity clause, among others.
Despite the discordant tunes emanating from the public hearings, Nigerians are resolute on having a constitution that would reflect their wishes.
– Fola Ademosu, additional reports: Maduabuchi Nmeribeh; Emmanuel Una/TheNEWS magazine