21 years into the 4th Republic
and the operation of the 1999 constitution, the 9th National Assembly is
currently in the process of amending the Constitution. The current alteration
is coming amid disunity and agitation by different groups.
One major issue lately has been
the rotation of the presidency between the North and South, as the tenure of
President Muhammadu Buhari is drawing to a close. And there has been a laud
agitation by the southeast region that the presidency be zoned to the region.
Meanwhile, the Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN) is making some drastic reforms to the 1999
constitution according to the memorandum summited to the House of
Representatives’ Special Committee on constitution amendment.
In a copy seen, the association proposed an end to the current election of a president for a term of 4 years and the right to re-election. In it’s place, the association is proposing a presidential council where each region in the country will elect a vice president.
The 6 vice presidents will form
the collegiate presidency. Each will take a turn to chair the council as the
head of state for 2 years. While other vice presidents shall “in rotation serve
and be in charge of interior, foreign affairs, resources (Finance), defence and
transportation.
“To this end, we propose the
establishment of a systemic Collegiate Presidency, that is, Presidential
Council with fixed 12 years tenure. The proposed Presidential Council shall
have each zone represented by an elected Vice-President that serves on the
collegiate that shall constitute the core of the Presidency with each taking
tums as President in rotational format with each person serving for 2 years at
an instance during the cycle. The Chairman of the proposed Presidential Council
shall fulfil the obligations of Head of State and Head of Government,” the
proposal reads.
Perhaps in anticipation of the
challenges with the presidential collegiate, CAN also proposed a presidential
tenure of 5 years with each zone/region headed by a vice president who shall
equally be in charge of their respective jurisdictions for a term of 5 years.
Hassan Nurudeen, Programme
officer governance and accountability, Youthhub Africa, said the proposal will
create more problems rather than solving any.
“There are lots of nuances that
we still carry around even at the regional level that will not make this thing
work. I don’t think it is a good system. It is going to cause more problems
than solving them.
Also, the duration is long. When
a group of persons spends 12 years in power, they will want to consolidate it.
The idea is very bad.”
To further strengthen the zones,
the association is proposing a return to the regions as espoused by the 1963
Constitution with each region “having legal and policy frameworks encapsulated
in a regional constitution.”
As part of reforms, the
association also called for the inclusion of a referendum into the
constitution. This issue could prove controversial in light of the call for
referendum by the Indigenous People of Biafra. Also, there is s call for the
recognition of traditional rulers by the Constitution.
To address fiscal federalism, the
apex Christian body is proposing a review of the revenue sharing formula.
Regions are to collect revenue and remit 30% to the central body while states
are to get 25%, 22% for the region, 10% for host communities and 13% to the
LGA.
Removal of Shariah Court
CAN is calling for the removal of
Sharia courts system from the constitution. However, if that is unachievable,
the introduction of the Christian Ecclesiastical Courts System should be an
option.
“Maintain the secularity of
Nigeria as per section 10 of 1999 Constitution by expunging all provisions
pertaining to sharia court system.
” failing to implement that,
introduce the Christian Ecclesiastical courts system, ” it said.
State creation
CAN is calling for the creation
of 6 additional states. Southern Kaduna/Kataf/Gurara State from Kaduna State,
Okun State from Kogi State, Okigwe State from Imo and Abia State, Cross River
North from Cross River State and Ibadan State and Oke-Ogun State from Oyo
State.
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