Former Senate Leader Recommends Two-step Process for Constitution Review

The National Assembly has been urged to adopt a two-step approach to draw up a constitution acceptable and workable for Nigerians.

The former leader of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba made the recommendation during an interview with newsmen in Calabar, the capital city of Cross River State, south-south Nigeria.

Ndoma-Egba unequivocally recalled that the 1999 constitution was a schedule to a decree passed during the military era without contributions from the people.

According to him, “in 1999 when the constitution came into being, there was no parliament.  The people of this country did not make any contribution to the constitution.  I do not recall any referendum where we discussed the constitution. I do not recall any mass meetings where we had representatives to discuss the constitution. If you recall in 1999, the military passed a decree, I think decree No. 5 of 1999 and the constitution was just a schedule to a decree.”

Ratified

The former senate leader noted that although some Nigerians have described the 1999 constitution as illegal, the document was ratified by the people’s submission.

He opined “Even if the constitution was illegitimate, we have since ratified it.  We have made it legitimate by our various acts of ratification. We have submitted ourselves to the constitution.  People were elected to exercise authority over us and we submitted ourselves to their authority. The Judges of courts created by that constitution have passed judgments in matters and we obeyed the judgment. There have serial ratification of that constitution.  So, the constitution is authentic.”

Ndoma-Egba attributed the current situation in the country to the failure of the twenty-two years old constitution, which he said “has brought us to this sad past. I think that if we want to make progress, we must be bold enough to say that this constitution has failed. The only negotiated constitutions in this country were the 1960 and the 1963.”

On the adoption and implementation of the 2014 National Conference Report, Ndoma-Egba averred that Nigerians elected representatives to the upper and lower legislative houses to make laws that would represent their interest rather.

He, however, suggested, “the constitution says ‘you cannot do anything without amending me.’  So, two options are available to the National Assembly in my view: It is to amend the constitution to allow for a new one. And in that amendment, prescribe methods of bringing another constitution into being.  That should be the focus right now.”

Security gaps

Concerned about rising insecurity, the former legislator urged the Nigerian Government to take control of what he described as ‘ungoverned spaces’- geographically – causing non-state actors to take over such territories and compete for legitimacy.

“What Nigeria should do is for the government to take total control of ungoverned spaces.  There are too many ungoverned spaces in this country. So non-state actors are now competing for the power of coercion with the legitimate state.  For instance, if we have security where the bandits are located, they would not be there. 

“What about Sambisa forest? That place used to be a games reserve. I did my National Service in Bauchi when Gombe state was still part of Bauchi. Some friends visited and I took them to the Yankari Games Reserve.  Can anyone go there today?” he asked.

Senator Ndoma-Egba was recently appointed by Governor Ben Ayade to mediate the intractable crisis between Ebom and Ebijakara as well as Ediba/ Usumutong in Abi local government area.

Ime N