A former Vice-Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Professor Akin Oyebode has faulted the ongoing moves by the National Assembly to amend the 1999 constitution, saying what the country need is a new people’s oriented constitution.
Oyebode, a professor of International Law and Jurisprudence noted that there is no amount of amendment to the current 1999 constitution that would make things work for the country, adding that is difficult to review or amend what he described as a forged document.
The elder statesman spoke in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital on Tuesday at a public consultation for the amendment of the 1999 constitution organised by the State Committee for the review of the constitution to collate the views and position of residents ahead of the zonal public hearing by the Senate slated for Friday in Akure, Ondo state capital.
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He lamented the abandonment of the over 600 resolutions from the 2014 national conference by the present administration, maintaining that when implemented, it would address the lingering challenges bedeviling the country and set the nation on the path of progress and development.
According to him, ‘There is nowhere the people came together to produce the 1999 constitution, it is a military document that does not cover the minds and aspirations of the people, it is an injurious constitution.
‘I am sorry to disappoint the National Assembly members that the exercise they have commenced is needless because you can’t amend a forged document. We don’t have a constitution, what we have is a military arrangement and the earlier we know this, the better for our country.
‘Let me say that when a document is irredeemably faulty, there is no amount of amendment that can make it work. The time is right to put an end to the lie that we are operating a republic, we are only pretending to be.’
Oyebode, who chaired the event however disclosed that the outcomes of the amendment process of the constitution by the national assembly must be subjected to a national referendum,” which will reflect the will and interests of the preponderance of the people.”
He carpeted the presidency’s reaction to the decision of the Southern Governors to ban open grazing, wondering, ‘I have not seen where a president will be challenging the decisions of state governors.’
Speaking, the Ekiti state governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi described the 1999 constitution as a product of military decree which is defective and fell short of expectations of people in the country.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
