– Speaker of the House of Reps. Yakubu Dogara assured Nigerians that the National Assembly would not block the aspirations in many quarters for changes to the Constitution
– Dogara stressed that constitutional amendment is a continuous process which would occur in stages
– The speaker stated that the House of Assembly was ready to do its part, once consensus on the issue of constitutional amendment has been reached
Yakubu Dogara, the speaker of the House of Representatives, has said the only way Nigeria can be restructured is by amending the 1999 Constitution, Premium Times reports.
Dogara made his comments while speaking at a public hearing by the House Ad-hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, on Wednesday July 13.
The committee had organized the hearing in order to get input on a bill presented by Walter Onnoghen, the chief justice of the federation, to the National Assembly.
The bill titled “A Bill For An Act To Alter The Constitution Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) To Reflect The Proposals Initiated By The Judiciary (HB858)”, is a merger of all recommendations requiring an amendment of the Constitution, made by judicial bodies and heads of courts.
It aims to effect judicial reform by altering provisions of the Constitution.
While assuring Nigerians that the National Assembly would not block the aspirations in many quarters for changes to the Constitution, the speaker stressed that constitutional amendment is a continuous process which would occur in stages.
He stated: “Agitations for restructuring the governance framework for Nigeria can only be done through the alteration and amendment of the 1999 Constitution.
“I wish to say, that the House of Representatives and indeed the National Assembly is ready to do its part in terms of amending the constitution when consensus have been reached on any matter by stakeholders and Nigerian citizens.”
Meanwhile, it was previously reported that Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, stated that Nigeria does not need a restructuring of the country to end all of its numerous challenges.
The former NBA boss described the various calls for restructuring as being ‘politically motivated’.
According to Agbakoba, the politicians who are calling for a restructuring of the country are harboring political ambitions towards the 2019 elections.
