Members of the Nationwide Christian Elders Discussion board, NCEF, have disagreed over the modalities to be adopted in birthing a brand new Structure forward of one other constitutional overview by the Nationwide Meeting.
The Christian elders, at a consultative assembly held Thursday by way of zoom, which was convened by NCEF on the brand new Structure, couldn’t agree on the modality to be adopted for the train.
The assembly was convened to know the totally different views within the proposals for a brand new Structure earlier than the NCEF with the ethnic nationalities.
The Govt Secretary of Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self Willpower, NINAS, Mr Tony Nnadi, stated amending the Structure wouldn’t berth fairness and stability with out suspending sure provisions stipulated by successive navy regimes to foist a unitary Structure.
He was of the opinion that nothing wanting a model new Structure produced by indigenous nationalities might set the nation proper.
Nnadi cited Part 14, 2, of the Structure, including that what the present Nationwide Meeting desires to do just isn’t totally different from the previous makes an attempt at tinkering with the nation’s grundnorm.
In a counter argument, the standard Ruler of Daffo in Bokkos Native Authorities Space of Plateau State, Jonathan Akuns, famous that Nigerian leaders missed the chance to overview the Structure.
He argued that the 1963 Republican Structure was not abrogated, saying all of the Home of Representatives wanted to do was to amend it to protect Nigeria’s democratic and structural basis.
He stated: “Ethnic cohorts held a constitutional convention in Lagos on 25-26 July 1963 and mandated elected members of the Home of Representatives to enact the Republican Structure with impact from January 10,1963.
“The enthroned autochthonous 1963 CFRN was by no means abrogated by navy juntas, however merely suspended. Due to this fact, we have to fastidiously sew the democratic strands of Nigeria by reviewing the autochthonous 1963 CFRN.
“Consequently, the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN) suffered a protracted interval of an interregnum that stifled and stunted the maturity of the tenets of republican governance in Nigeria. India is a worldwide basic of republicanism within the nationhood strides of nations that additionally emerged by colonial creation.”
Akuns maintained that the most effective route for the Structure overview course of within the current circumstances is to tinker with the 1963 Republican Structure, stressing that that’s the greatest wager to protect the democratic calls for of Structure making.
Earlier, the chairman of NCEF, Dr Samuel Gani, disclosed that the consultative assembly was convened for Christian elders to deliberate on a brand new Structure for Nigeria.
