Politics

Which Is Better : Should Nigeria Continue Operating Military Imposed Constitution or Formulate New Democratic Constitution ?

The theme of the summit is: “Actualising a constitutional democracy that works for all in Nigeria.”

Published

5 months ago

July 17, 2025

OCHEFA

438 Views

• Olusegun Obasanjo and Emeka Anyaoku

Former Commonwealth Secretary- General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, shared perspectives on whether or not Nigeria should have a new constitution.

They spoke in Abuja, yesterday , during the opening of a three-day emergency national constitutional summit organised by a group of eminent Nigerians operating under the umbrella of the Patriots.

The theme of the summit is: “Actualising a constitutional democracy that works for all in Nigeria.”

While Anyaoku believes Nigeria needs a new, pluralistic Constitution, Obasanjo said that no such document is perfect and that it is the operators that matter.

Anyaoku dismissed the 1999 Constitution, currently in operation, as a military imposition.

The Chair of the Patriots believes that the country’s pluralistic nature requires a new constitution.To Anyaoku, the present 36 federating units have proven incapable of driving development, adding that 65 years after independence, Nigeria has become the world capital of poverty.

He said: “Nigeria is a pluralistic country, and like all successful pluralistic countries around the world, for its stability and maximal development, its constitution must address its problems.

“Second, it must address its pluralism by being formulated by elected representatives of its diverse people.

“Our present 1999 Constitution, as amended, is not such a constitution. It was not democratically formulated.

“It was instead imposed on the country through a decree by the military administration.

“And the governance system derived from it is not only non-inclusive, but also induces over-expectation of the nation’s resources on administration rather than on capital development.

“As a result, what we see is our nation’s need for a new constitution.

“There is the need for a new constitution, but this is a matter to be made by the people of our country.”

He called for “a constitution that would be in sync with the Constitution of the United States, a constitution of successful pluralistic countries around the world”.

Anyaoku added: “To those who say that the fate of a country depends primarily on its leadership, I say that the Constitution from which the system of governance is derived largely determines the character of the people who get elected or appointed to govern the country from the three arms of the government.”

On the other hands, Obasanjo said said that Nigeria doesn’t need a new constitution but rather needs the right operators of the constitution.

Represented by the Secretary-General of Eminent Patriots, Mr Olawale Okunniyi, the former President agreed that while a constitution must reflect the history, the constituents and the aspirations of a people, “no constitution is perfect.”

Obasanjo said: “From my experience in operating our constitution, I will be the first to point out some areas that need amendment.

However, for me, no constitution can ever be regarded as perfect.

“But whatever the strength or weakness of a constitution, the most important issue, to my understanding and experience, is the operators of the constitution.

“The best constitution can be perverted and distorted by the operators, and we have experienced that all over Africa, Nigeria is not exempt.

“I am more concerned about the operators of the constitution to lead in good governance and promotion of welfare and wellbeing of the citizenry.“No matter what you do to the Nigerian constitution, if the operators of the constitution, for the past one decade and a half, remain unchanged and continue in the same manner, the welfare and wellbeing of Nigerians will continue to be sacrificed on the altar of selfishness.”

Related Topics:Featured Nigerian constitution The Patriots constitutional summit

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Politics

Senate Approves Oke, Are,and Dalhatu to serve as ambassadors

Akpabio urged the ambassadors-designate to bring to bear their wealth of experience in their new roles.

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

OCHEFA

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• Senate screening of ambassadors nominees presided by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

The Senate on Tuesday approved the nomination of three ambassadorial nominees—Ayodele Oke, Colonel Kayode Are (rtd), and Amin Dalhatu for appointment as envoys.

The resolution of the Senate followed its consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs presented by its chairman, Senator Abubakar Sani Bello, during plenary.

Oke is a former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and ex-Nigerian Ambassador to the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.

Are is a former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS).

Dalhatu is Nigeria’s immediate past Ambassador to South Korea.

The trio were unanimously endorsed by lawmakers when the Senate President Godswill Akpabio put their nomination to a voice vote during today’s plenary.

In his comment, Akpabio urged the ambassadors-designate to bring to bear their wealth of experience in their new roles.

Politics

PDP reacts to Supreme Court’s Emergency Rule judgement

PDP, in its reaction, describe the judgement as “a dangerous democratic bend,” saying , “While we respect the authority of the apex court and recognise its finality within our jurisdiction…

Published

2 days ago

December 15, 2025

OCHEFA

36 Views

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to the apex court’s judgement today which upheld that the President has the constitutional power to impose a state of emergency, in this case Rivers State.

PDP, in its reaction, describe the judgement as “a dangerous democratic bend,” saying , “While we respect the authority of the apex court and recognise its finality within our jurisdiction, we are nevertheless compelled to draw attention to the grave dangers that can emanate from the interpretation of the reasoning in this judgement on the political landscape of our country.”

In a statement signed by Comrade Ini Ememobong, National Publicity Secretary of the party, noted :

” Earlier today, a full panel of the Supreme Court finally delivered a split judgment (six to one) in the suit filed by the Attorney-General of Adamawa State and others against the Attorney-General of the Federation and the National Assembly.

The suit marked SC/CV/329/2025, challenged the powers of the President to suspend democratically elected officials like the Governor and Deputy Governor, and democratic institutions such as the Rivers State House of Assembly.

The Apex Court struck out the suit based on an absence of a cause of action but, went on to comment on the issues raised in the suit therein.

Their comments have been largely interpreted as upholding President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State earlier this year.

Our concern is anchored on the age-long principle of law that the express mention of one thing excludes others (expressio unius est exclusio alterius), and the clear constitutional position that no person or institution(other than the State House of Assembly or a court of law), is empowered to remove a Governor from office, even temporarily, during the subsistence of a constitutional term.

To hold otherwise is to create a pathway by which a President, with the active support of the National Assembly, can compel political alignment or compliance through the instrumentality of emergency powers in ways not envisaged by the Constitution.

We submit that the interpretation of this judgment has the potential to reverse the hard-won democratic gains by unwittingly making state governments completely subservient to the Federal Government, forcing them to seek to ‘connect to the centre’ by joining the ruling party, as we are already witnessing.

More troubling is the fact that the logical extension of this reasoning based on the provision of Section 305(3)(c) “extraordinary measures to restore peace and security” could, in the future, be interpreted to justify the suspension of other constitutional institutions, including the judiciary itself.

We cannot reconcile how in a federation (not a unitary state) an elected President can be empowered to dismantle the democratic structures of a federating unit, sack elected officials and appoint leaders there, without consciously promoting authoritarianism and entrenching tyranny.

As a political party wholly committed to the protection and consolidation of democracy in Nigeria, we hereby call on the National Assembly to urgently initiate constitutional and legislative safeguards that clearly define and limit the scope of emergency powers of the president, to prevent imminent abuse and preserve Nigeria’s federation.

We also urge Nigerians, civil society organisations, the media, and the international democratic community to remain vigilant in the defence of constitutionalism, federalism, and the sanctity of the electoral mandate.

We remain hopeful that, at the next opportunity, the Supreme Court will have cause to extensively clarify the constitutional boundaries of emergency powers, in the overriding interest of justice, democracy, and the long-term stability of our Republic.”

Politics

PDP Governors Who Have Left the Party And Those Still in The Party

Seyi Makinde – Oyo State (South-West

Published

1 week ago

December 10, 2025

OCHEFA

67 Views

This is a compilation of PDP Governors who have defected from the party to the APC since 2023 tilldate, and on the other hand, those who are still in the party.