Ozekhome urges Tinubu to drive constitutional reform

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mike Ozekhome, on Sunday charged President Bola Tinubu to put in place a people-centered constitution for Nigeria.

The lawyer made the call when he featured in Channels Television’s Sunday Politics show.

Ozekhome, who is a member of The Patriots, a distinguished group led by former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, recently met with President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja.

When questioned about the President’s commitment to constitutional reform, Ozekhome stressed the need for decisive action, saying, “He (Tinubu) should have the political will because these problems won’t disappear until we confront them head-on.”

He argued that a new constitution was essential to addressing Nigeria’s pressing challenges, including poverty, insecurity, and corruption.

READ ALSO:Ozekhome echoes ALGON, calls for direct payments of FAAC allocations to LGAs

When asked if a new constitution was an antidote to poverty, insecurity, and other challenges confronting the Nigerian state, Ozekhome said: “It is. The killings you are seeing, the poverty, the corruption, they are all symptoms of a larger problem which is the basis of what we are talking about. When you solve it, other things will be in place.”

The lawyer criticized the current 1999 Constitution, describing it as a military-imposed document that was not subject to a referendum.

He called for an indigenous and people-centric constitution to redirect Nigeria’s trajectory, stressing the need for nationhood and unity.

Ozekhome emphasized that a new constitution must be put to a referendum and likened the current constitutional framework to a car with a faulty engine that requires replacement rather than superficial repairs.

By: Mayowa Oladeji

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