Group Blames Nigerian Constitution for Boko Haram

Group Blames Nigerian Constitution for Boko Haram

AKWA Ibom Reforms Forum, a socio-economic and political reform group in Akwa Ibom State, has called on the National Assembly to urgently review the country’s constitution, saying the document is largely responsible for the terrorist acts of the Boko haram, and all the other enormous security problems unsettling Nigeria.

They are blaming the constitution for the current security challenges thrown up by the Islamic militant group, Boko Haram, and all the other militant organizations as well as the protracted Niger Delta crises, and the rise of self-determination groups across the country. According to the reform group, the "1999 Constitution is very defective.

"It is a subjugative document that viciously violates the internal administrative units of the 36 states of the twisted Nigerian federation. We have found to our utter dismay that though the constitution has given the country what it calls Federal Republic of Nigeria, but in principle and practice, it is a unitary republic that concedes very little initiative to the states to define and shape their future development”.

Coordinator of the group and a frontline member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Ekerete J. Ekerete, in an on-line statement to AkanimoReports on Tuesday, said the constitution does not vent the legitimate aspirations of the peoples and governments of the 36 states.

“It clearly derogates from the principle of fiscal federalism, and denies the states responsibility for the security of lives and property of citizens”.

Ekerete, who is also a staunch supporter of Governor Godswill Akpabio, added, “the 1999 Constitution deprives the federating states the right to the full use and enjoyment of the resources of their territories to satisfy the aspirations of their people, and robs government of the ultimate responsibility for the administration of justice in the states”.

The group wants the legislative competence of the Federal Government to be limited to matters such as foreign affairs, defence, currency, telecommunications, tunk A roads, aviation, passport and visas, citizenship and all matters connected therewith which are of common interest to all the federating states.

Given what they described as “enormous security problems” confronting the country, the group is clamouring for governors to be given unfettered power with respect to the maintenance and securing of public safety and order within their states.

According to them, “the proviso to Section 215(4) of the 1999 Constitution which gives the Commissioner of Police in a state the discretion to refer any order given to him by a governor to the President or such minister of the Government of the Federation as may be authorized in that behalf, is clearly unitary in posture and unacceptable. This is a candidate for expurgation from the constitution in the on-going review exercise”.

Continuing, they argued that if governors are sufficiently empowered to deal with challenges such as the Boko Haram and acts of insurgency, the country will be better for it. We will also like to pray the National Assembly to assiduously uproot every provision of the constitution that erected pillars of subjugation in our country in a bid to resolve the problematic national question that has been plaguing Nigeria”

ENDS

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