April 14, 2024
Igbo think-tank group, the Alaigbo Development Foundation (ADF), has said that the chaotic nature of the Nigeria federation is the basis for the perennial terrorism, banditry and violence witnessed across the country.
The national president of the ADF, Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, who stated this in Enugu during a press briefing after their state executive meeting on Sunday, identified restructuring as the solution to insecurity and economic crises bedeviling the nation.
Awuzie also suggested that there should be a return to the 1963 regional constitution.
He said: “The ADF believes that the chaotic nature of the Nigerian federation is the basis of the perennial terrorism, banditry and violence which have made life unbearable in Nigeria today.
“To build an equitable federal structure based on social justice, we advocate the reconstitution/renegotiation of the Nigerian Federation.
“This should be done through the making of a new people’s Constitution and not the amendment of the 1999 Constitution as embarked upon by the current and former National Assemblies from 1999 to date.
“We are convinced that only a return to Regional Autonomy and Fiscal Federalism can resolve the problems bedeviling the crisis-ridden Nigerian federation. There should be a return to the 1963 Regional Constitution which was agreed upon by Nigeria’s founding fathers.”
He explained that the 1999 constitution cannot be amended, saying that the National Assembly had been wasting the nation’s resources in its attempt to amend the constitution.
According to him, amending the 1999 constitution will involve the state houses of assembly.
Awuzie, therefore, advocated that there should be a return to what he described as people’s constitution, nothing that the 1999 constitution was imposed on the people by the military.
He maintained that the governors have much influence on the state houses of assembly and will therefore not allow them to do what they (the governors) do not want.
