Ongoing constitution amendment exercise wasteful — PDP chieftain

A chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Adetokunbo Pearse, has described the ongoing amendment of the 19999 Constitution by the National Assembly as “wasteful exercise”.

It be recalled that the Committee on Constitution Review has just concluded its public sittings, which took the body to the six geo-political zones of the country, where it gathered various requests from Nigerians from diverse fields on what they wanted included in the nation’s new Constitution.

Pearse, a former governorship candidate, who is also a public affairs analyst and Convener, Reset Lagos PDP, gave this position, while speaking with our correspondent, saying that requests been demanded by the citizens, including creation of more states, the establishment of State Police, among others, when majority of existing states were hardly viable, were reasons why a discerning analyst would be sceptical.

This was just as he quickly noted that the issue of Local Government Autonomy had been the law since 1999, adding that Nigeria remained signatory to the United Nations Convention, which recommends 35% for Women’s Participation in public life.

The PDP chieftain, while maintaining that the ongoing constitution amendment exercise was needless, posited that most of the recommendations from 2014 Confab dealt with the same requests being considered by the current Constitution Review Committee of the National Assembly, saying that implementation of “some of the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference has the potential to restructure Nigeria into a more unified country with a strong economy and a more secured entity.”

“The review of the 19999 Federal Constitution by the National Assembly is a laudable project in theory. In reality, it is a frivolous and wasteful exercise.

“As evidenced from previous exercises of this type, lawmakers will travel from state to state, talking to citizens about a subject they know little about. At the end of the exercise, none of the recommendations are implemented.

“Consider the reasons why a discerning analyst would be sceptical:

“One, they want to create more states when the existing number of States is hardly viable, since only three or four states out of 37 are financially sustainable.

“Two, if you Institute State Police, how will states fund their operations when 90% of states don’t have enough Internally Generated Revenue, IGR?

“Three, the issue of LGA Autonomy was the law since 1999. Continuing to debate the matter is a waste of time. (4) Nigeria is signatory to the United Nations Convention, which recommends 35% for Women’s Participation in public life.

“This Constitution Review Committee appears to be nothing but a subterfuge because review of the 1999 Constitution had been, in essence, undertaken by the National Conference of 2014.

“Most of the recommendations from that Confab deal with the same requests that have been considered by the current Constitution Review Committee of the National Assembly.

“Implementation of some of the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference has the potential to restructure Nigeria into a more unified country with a strong economy and a more secured entity,” he said.