Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, has urged Nigerians not to engage in wishful thinking that the 9th National Assembly would deliver a new constitution, saying it lacks the mandate to do so.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yomi Odunuga, Omo-Agege made the comment when he hosted members of the Alliance of Nigerian Patriots, led by Ambassador Umunna Orjiako in Abuja.
The deputy senate president, who chairs the Adhoc Committee on Constitution Review, explained that the National Assembly had no powers to replace the current constitution of the country but could only amend it.
He cited advanced democracies like the United States of America after which Nigeria’s presidential system of government was fashioned as well as Sections 8 and 9 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), saying what is obtainable is piecemeal alteration of the constitution.
Omo-Agege, therefore, urged those calling for a brand new constitution to channel their energy towards participating actively in the ongoing amendment by the National Assembly.
The lawmaker described the proposal by the delegation that zones should replace states as another euphemism for going back to regionalism.
