Legal luminary and elder statesman, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, has always champion the need for a new constitution in Nigeria.
The Senior Advocate in a recent interview with a media house in Ekiti State, has again charged President Muhammadu Buhari to give Nigeria a new constitution before the 2023 general elections.
The prominent Lawyer and founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, ABUAD, Ekiti State, while speaking in Adoekiti, said that Nigerians are in need of a new constitution because the 1999 constitution needs restructuring.
“There’s need for restructuring. We need a new constitution before the next general elections. That can be achieved even between now and the next general elections. If President Buhari and the National Assembly are serious, we can still have a new constitution. It is not difficult”, he said.
Aare Afe Babalola reiterated the need for Nigeria to readopt the 1960 constitution. He stated that the 1999 constitution was not made in the interest of Nigerians, adding that the only way out of the political unrest in the country is to have a new constitution.
“The only way out for us as a nation is to have a new constitution. We need to sit down and discuss the future of this country. We should go back to the 1960 Constitution. That is the way out in my interest, your interest and the interest of generations yet unborn.
According to the renowned educationist, the 1999 constitution vested too much centralization of power in the federal government. He thereby noted that the 1960 constitution should adopted and amended.
“The 1999 Constitution is not in the interest of Nigerians, because it lied and said it was made by the people. Over centralisation of power in the center is causing a major problem for us in this country. So my vision is that we need a new constitution. We need to go back to 1960 before the next election and do some amendments. It is easy to make”
He said the 1999 constitution is the cause of problems in the country.
“Instead of amending clauses in the 1999 constitution, they should replace the constitution with the 1960 constitution. The 1999 constitution is what’s causing problems in the country and that is the over-centralization of power at the centre.
He also championed the need to scrap regions and replace them with zones. He also stressed the need to scrap bicameral legislature and replace it with unilateral legislature.
“Let us amend some areas that need to be amended like instead of the regions, let us have zones that will solve our problems. Amend the areas that allow people to contest and the areas that deal with the bi-camera legislature.
“We don’t need two legislatures, all we need in this country is just one legislature – less number of people, no salaries, allowances and it should be part-time. We need to cut costs”, he said.
