Nigeria needs new constitution, not amendments, Olanipekun tells NASS

Former Nigerian Bar Association President Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) has urged the National Assembly to suspend further amendments to the 1999 Constitution in favour of a new homegrown constitution that truly reflects Nigerians’ uniqueness and collective will.

The legal luminary spoke on Monday at the 13th Convocation Lecture of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, during a lecture titled “Nigeria yesterday, today and tomorrow: Imperative of a sober and definitive recalibration”.

“The National Assembly should, for the time being, stay action on the ongoing amendment or any further amendment to the 1999 Constitution. This constitution needs a new rebranding, a complete overhaul, and a substitution altogether. It has to be a negotiated document that will pave the way for a new social order,” Olanipekun argued.

To produce the new constitution, he called for a referendum, explaining that the federating units will organise the proposed referendum and determine the method of execution and the parameters involved.

“It is the referendum, rather than the National Assembly, that will decide whether or not Nigeria needs a National Assembly and, if yes, whether full or part-time and their tenure and remuneration, among others.

“In other words, this National Assembly cannot act at that referendum since one cannot be a judge in his own case,” he stated.

Olanipekun advised the federating units to assume responsibility for the configuration, repair, and re-engineering of Nigeria to ensure stability in all aspects, including security, constitutional structure, and governance.