Delegates at a National Constitutional Summit have called for an immediate constitutional framework that will return Nigeria to a truly federal system of government.
This is contained in a communique read by Prof. Maxwell Gidado and Mike Ozekhome, after a summit, which began on Wednesday, was organised by The Patriots (Eminent National Leaders of Thought) and chaired by Emeka Anyaoku, a former Commonwealth secretary-general.
The summit brought together Nigerians of various ethnic nationalities to discuss the state of the nation and the current constitution.
The delegates recommended a federal system of government, where the federating units will enjoy their autonomy as obtained in the First Republic and other genuine democracies of the world.
The summit also agreed that the current system of government was too expensive, prone to abuse, and a hindrance to people’s welfare as major threat to the future of democracy in Nigeria.
The delegates, therefore, recommend that the Constituent Assembly should closely examine the most appropriate system of government for Nigeria.
The delegates also recommend the devolution of powers from the centre to the federated units.
The delegates noted that a bi-camera system of federal legislature was unsustainable expensive, adding that there should be more cost-effective system.
They agreed that the president requested to introduce an executive bill to the National Assembly to empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to organise elections into a “National Constituent Assembly.’’
“This assembly will be made up of delegates elected on non-partisan basis as well as representatives of special interest groups.
“The assembly will rewrite a People’s Democratic Constitution that will be subjected to a referendum of the Nigerian people before it is assented to the National Assembly.
“ The assembly, in formulating the Constitution, will take into full consideration the 1960, 1963, and 1999 constitutions.
“The 2014 National Conference recommendations and others for a return to genuine federalism,’’ the stated.
On the justice system, the delegates recommended the need for each federating unit to have its court hierarchy up to the Court of Appeal, leaving the federal Supreme Court to deal with heavy constitutional matters.
The issues, according to the delegate, include interstate disputes, and disputes between the federal and subcontinental courts.
“ The delegates to the summit also recommend the creation of special courts to manage special offenses such as electoral matters, corruption, and terrorism cases, amongst others.
“The delegates to the summit recommend that the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and that of the Minister of Justice should be separated to enable the appointment of a non-politically partisan attorney general,’’ the summit stated.
The delegates also noted that elections were too costly and prone to corruption, resolving that all elections be conducted in a single day, stating that “this is cheaper, time-saving, and less prone to corruption.’’
The summit also recommended that National Assembly should amend the Electoral Act 2022 for Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, and electronic transmission of result in real-time, be made mandatorily.
“All election matters should be conducted and completed before the swearing in of officials.
“There should be provisions for independent candidates for aspirants who do not wish to run for elections on party basis.
“The summit recommends that once a person is elected on the platform of a political party, he shall remain there till tenure is over and shall not defect to another political party.
“The consequence, where this takes place, such seat shall automatically and unconditionally be declared vacant,’’ the recommended.
The summit also recommended that a new constitution should set caps on the number of ministers, commissioners, special advisers and such officers to reduce cost of governance.
The delegates also recommended the arrest and prosecution of compromised judiciary and police officers to serve deterrence to criminality.
“There should therefore be comprehensive restructuring of the police and the court system for effective corruption-free justice delivery,’’ it added.
The summit also recommends that the new Constitution should entrench robust provisions for the protection of the People’s socio-economic and political rights, such as education, health, security and employment.
“The summit also recommends the inclusion of women, youths, people with special needs and minorities in political participation and governance and nation building.
“ The new Constitution should ensure gender equity in determining citizenship in marriage,’’ it stated.
The delegates also demanded the establishment of a new framework that would guarantee the civic rights of Nigerians in diaspora to participate in the democratic process.
The summit also recommended the establishment of border coastal security guards to support the conventional security forces, as well as the introduction of a community-based border policy model to the nation’s security system.
“The summit also recommends, the need for equity in statutory rotation of headship. of national security agencies among the sub-nationals.
“The summit agreed that giving a plurality, Nigeria should in perpetuity remains a secular state. Both the central and sub-national governments shall do nothing to detract from this secularity,’’ the delegate recommended.
The three-day summit is with theme: Actualising a Constitutional Democracy That Works for All in Nigeria”.
NAN
