President Bola Tinubu has promised to review the request for the convening of a national constituent assembly with the mandate to draft a new constitution.
The request was made by a group of eminent personalities known as ‘The Patriots’ led by former Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku.
Speaking during a visit to the president in Abuja on Friday, August 9, Chief Anyaoku, appealed to the President to send an executive bill to the National Assembly, proposing two measures: ”The convening of a national constituent assembly with the mandate to produce a draft people’s democratic constitution.
The constituent assembly should be of directly elected individuals, on a non-political basis, from the 36 states of the federation, possibly three individuals per state, and one from the FCT.
They should be assisted by seven constitutional lawyers, one drawn from each of the six geo-political zones and the FCT.
The deliberations of the constituent assembly should take into full account the 1960/63 constitutions, as well as the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference and indeed of the various national conferences that considered the Nigerian constitutions.
The draft constitution, produced by the constituent assembly, should be put to a national referendum and if approved, should then be signed by the President as the genuine Nigerian people’s constitution.”
Responding to these requests, the President said: “I have listened to you carefully, and this is not a group that I can ignore. This is a group of patriots reflecting the heart and aspirations of society. I thank all of you for being here.…(continue reading from next slide.)
