Constitutional amendment key to solving Nigeria’s problems – Don
NAN-H-66
Constitution
By Lizzy Okoji/Kate Obande
Abuja, Nov. 7, 2017 (NAN) Dr Tunji Ogunyemi, Head of the History Department, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has said that amending the 1999 Constitution was the best way to solve the numerous problems facing the country.
Ogunyemi said this on Tuesday in Abuja during a roundtable organised by the Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung (KAS), a German Non-governmental Organisation, on“ Constitutional Revview’’.
According to Ogunyemi, a constitutional amendment will begin the move to make Nigeria better governed taking cognizance of issues as regards reducing the excessive and exclusive powers of the Federal Government.
He said that other issues includes fiscal and political autonomy of Local Governments, separating the powers of the Attorney General of the Federation from the Minister of Justice.
He listed the power of the President to order expenditure of in default of appropriation among others as items to be properly looked into for amendment.
Ogunyemi said that Nigeria can only have a participatory, effective and productive federal system, if the constitution was amended with excessive powers downsized and transferred from the Federal government to the states and local governments.
“ I think it is absolutely apt at this time to have a constitutional amendment and one cannot be thankful enough to the national assembly for muting about 40 instances of amendments.
“ I have identified six specific areas of the constitution that needs urgent amendment.
“The first is section 162 with respect to the state and local governments accounts so that local government can have fiscal autonomy and they can be able to govern properly with the required finances at the local level.
“With regards to Section 150, separating the office of attorney general of the federation from the minister of justice is very important.
“There is also the issue of having to downside on the second schedule part one containing the exclusive rights of the Federal Government to make laws on 68 items.
“Our 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has 98 items containing public powers and the Federal Government has appropriated 68 out of this 98, which is unwieldy as it contains petty issues.
“If we actually want a participatory, productive federal system, we need to downsize on this excessive powers and transfer a significant portion to the concurrent so that the states also can legislate on these matters’’, Ogunyemi said.
The don said that for an effective local government autonomy, the vertical allocation of fiscal resources should be implemented as against the horizontal allocation whereby local governments allocation can be paid directly to their accounts.
The lecturer said that this is to ensure that state governments and governors do not emasculate the local governments by taking too much from the resources meant for them.
He said that in addition to the constitutional amendment, there is need for a redefinition of a national consensus on development and a change in attitude by all Nigerians.
Ogunyemi said that building of infrastructures should be away from politics and regional discrimination.
“We can also deemphasize the issue of indegineship and bring to the fur the issue of citizenship.
“Irrespective of where you are born in Nigeria, so long as you have lived in that place for a significantly period of not less than five years, you should be able to appropriate all the privileges, responsibilities and the rights accruable to that area.
“ I think this is going to be another step that will help Nigeria develop the more’’, Ogunyemi.
In her remarks, Mrs Hildegard Behrendt-Kigozi, Country representative of KAS to Nigeria, said that the discussion was apt, especially with the disagreement between the Senate and the House of Representative on the constitutional review.
She said that the KAS has taken interest on the issue and brought it up for discussion among stakeholders so that suggestions could be made and the public can also be sensitised in other to make their input
Behrendt-Kigozi said that KAS has also sensitised members of some state assemblies on their roles in making meaningful contributions to the constitution amendement.
She said that when amending the constitution, the parliamentarians should make the laws precise and accurate to avoid misinterpretation. (NAN)
LIZ/KTE/AFA
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Edited by Felix Ajide