Nigeria Needs New Constitution, Not Amendment

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Delta Governor, Sen. (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa states that Nigeria
needed a new Constitution, not amendment to accommodate emerging
issues of good governance and greater interest of Nigerians.

Okowa stated this when he received on courtesy visit, the Senate
Sub-Committee on review of the 1999 Constitution led by Senator
James Manager at Government House, Asaba.

He said that a new Constitution for the country had become
imperative in view of observed lacunas in the 1999 Constitution and
called for the insertion of a clause to allow for the re-writing of
the Constitution while it would continue to be in operation until a
new one was ready.

“There is no doubt that there is still a lot to work on in our
Constitution to have a near perfect document, and I know that the
National Assembly has continued over time, to cause some of the
amendments to be.

“I thank God that those sent here are familiar with the zone;
so, when the people truly speak they would understand.

“But, I also wished that some persons from other zones actually
had the opportunity to come down here to hear the voices of our
people directly because sometimes we do not understand the extent
of the pains that people of the Niger Delta truly suffer in our
nation.

“We believe in one Federation; we believe in the unity of
Nigeria, but we will continue to ask for very strong equity in our
Federation as a people and I know that the people will really voice
out their opinion at the public hearing.

“We know that some amendments were made recently but on a
general note, we are also aware that the Constitution itself
appears to have just been hurriedly put up just before the 1999
elections and handed over.

“I wished it was possible to start the whole process again and
to re-write the Constitution and also believe that there may be a
need for us to look very closely on ways and means of re-writing
the Constitution as a new document even when the current
Constitution exists,’’ Okowa said.

He recalled that the process of reviewing the 1999 Constitution
started in the 7th Assembly, but that it was not possible to push
it forward because of certain disagreements at that time.

Reiterating the necessity of a new constitution for the country,
he said “if we look deeply as lawmakers we would be able to create
a window for that purpose because every year or in every assembly,
we continue to engage ourselves in one amendment or the other.

“I think that it is possible to insert a clause that will enable
us to truly rewrite the constitution while the current constitution
may be operational until the new one is brought into force.

“In that case, we would not be struggling year-in-year-out
trying to amend one clause or the other because there are
challenges when it comes to that.’’

The governor urged the National Assembly to look into power
devolution to the states, review of revenue allocation formula, oil
derivation and state police in the amendment to enable Chairman of
Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission to lay
revenue allocation formula proposals directly before the
lawmakers.

“As a state, we believe that the way the federal structure is in
terms of governance, the powers at the federal level or what you
call the powers of the Presidency are too weighted against the rest
of the structures in the state or what you call the sub-national
governments.

“We believe that the exclusive list ought not to be as it is,
because there are many things in that place that could truly be in
the concurrent list.

“This is because the sub-national governments are much closer to
the people and understand truly the pains and needs of their people
and they are more likely to effect development changes that will be
impactful on their people,” he stated.

He regretted that no review had been made to the revenue
allocation formula for the past 24 years whereas it was supposed to
be reviewed every five years.

Okowa said that oil-producing states had continued to struggle
for the 13 per cent derivation fund, and remarked that oil was a
wasting asset while the environment where it was being extracted
had continued to be polluted and degraded.

“The 13 per cent is actually too low and we believe it should be
reviewed to 50 per cent as it used to be in the past or allow the
states to own the assets and pay tax to the centre as applicable in
other climes.

“We are also fully aware that our country is going through tough
times with the current insecurity pervading our nation.

“We believe in the Nigerian Police but to fully secure the land
there is a need for states to have their own police and all the
governors of this nation are in support of that.

“The Nigerian police have been stretched beyond limit and to
complement the Federal Police Force there is need for the states to
have their own police,” he added.

He assured the Committee of the support of the state when
recommendations were made from the National Assembly.

“We are glad that you have come to listen to the people and we
hope that when you also speak within the larger Committee that
those voices which do not understand the pains of our people will
not suppress the voices of our people.

“It is in the interest of the country that we provide more funds
for the development of oil-producing states and for them to take
care of the degradation of their environment,” the governor
stated.

Earlier, Senator Manager had said that the Committee which
comprised Senators from Edo, Bayelsa and Delta were in the state to
conduct a two-day public hearing on the amendment of the 1999
Constitution.