- says he will support a new constitution, if pragmatic incidence permits it
Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello has alluded that Nigeria as an independent country was capable of undergoing the process of recasting its constitution in her image through laid down processes
He also noted that he would support a new Constitution under the permission pragmatic incidents of national life but a total abrogation of the existing Constitution and promulgation of a new one which kept the nation squabbling over parochial advantages while making no progress cannot have my blessing.
The Governor made this known on Monday while delivering a lecture at the TOS symposium 2021 held at the international conference centre, abuja themed “The People’s Constitution”
He asserted that the true People’s Constitution was the one that the people have per time, and which we are ready to improve urging Governors to get more involved in the ongoing process of amending the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
He said “ Let us mobilise the hottest issues agitating our respective domains which our people desire the Constitution to tackle and submit to NASS. Let us litigate problematic, imprecise or oppressive provisions and get the courts to clarify them. That way we can chip away at contested provisions, while shoring up the acceptable aspects of the 1999 Constitution. This is the only way to start making steady progress towards the constitutional Republic of our dreams and a more robust nationhood.
Governor Bello stressed that Nigerians must discover that “The People” which preface and introduce the 1999 Constitution remained the only part of her ground norm that is sacrosanct adding that anything else could be changed if majority agreed and acted through the outlined legal processes.
Governor Bello used the medium to implore compatriots seeking a fresh Constitution or nothing as the sole way forward to help the nation out as leaders.
He implored that they should brainstorm real-world answers to the questions asked assuring that if the conundrum was resolved satisfactorily enough for the national leadership to feel confident in proceeding, the process would be much easier to sell to all stakeholders.
The governor said “For the immediate though, especially with 2023 in view, we must continue to make progress any way we can. Thus, may I suggest that a more viable and practical approach would be to subject the existing Constitution as often as necessary or needed to review and upgrade? By the twin mechanisms of legislative panel-beating by amendments and judicial reconstruction through litigation, much good can yet be done. It is my contention that by relying on provisions already embedded in its bowels, we can get the present Constitution to become the Constitution we want for each stage of our national development”.
He noted that a working constitution was best cooked slowly and steadily noting that Legislative amendments and judicial decision-making may seem reactionary and slow, particularly when each interest group was in a hurry to input her items, he alluded that such process has helped others and they could help the nation too.
