JUST IN: Constitution amendment is jamboree__ Akeredolu

Ondo state governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, on Wednesday said it would be better for the country to adopt the 1963 Constitution, which according to him contained the principles of true federalism.

While lampooning the current 1999 constitution, he said the constitution is improper and needed to have been changed before this time.

Moreso, he made the remark at the opening of the zonal public hearing on the proposed alteration in the provision of the constitution, held in Akure, the state capital.

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According to the governor, we need to correct the fundamental mistakes that had been made in the past on the existence of the country. He warned that the ongoing process of amendment of the 1999 Constitution must not be taken frivolously.

He said, “The current attempt at constitution amendment should be taken beyond the usual jamboree conceived and executed to arrive at the predetermined result. This country has been experiencing constitution review since 1922 when the colonialists pretended to give a semblance of representation in our affairs.

“The 1946 Richard’s Constitution followed due to agitations of the people who clamored for more representation. The Macpherson’s of 1951 and Lyttleton’s of 1954 followed the same pattern. The 1958 Conference held in London gave provenance to the Independence Constitution of 1960. The 1963 Constitution retained Regionalism and upheld the principle of autochthony, organic development of the law using local experiences.

“The republican status of the country was reflected. Each Region had considerable latitude to blossom at her own pace. There was devolution of powers in the true sense of the term. This was the period when even outsiders noticed the potential greatness of the nascent post-colonial country. The major provisions which allowed the three regions which existed before independence were retained in the 1963 Constitution. That remains the best document for a country as heterogeneous as Nigeria.