Human Rights Activist and Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council for Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Dr Tunji Abayomi, has described the review of the 1999 Constitution by the National Assembly as wasteful adventures or misadventures.
Tunji Abayomi in a letter to the National Assembly dated March 2, 2022 pointed out that the National Assembly needs to know that Nigeria does not have a constitution and that what Nigerian has is Decree 24 of 1999 which, if it were to be amend, needs not input from the several states.
According to him, the National Assembly in its debasing ignorance should simply stop embarrassing Constitutionally intelligent Nigerians noting that this nation still has what the great American historian and philosopher W.E.B Du Bois called the ‘Talent Tenth’ who can command regard and respect in Constitutional knowledge.
His words, “If National Assembly wants us to be continually governed by the military force Law Decree 24 of 1999 instead giving us a Constitution from the people, by the people and for the people, it should continue in its wasteful adventures or misadventures.
“The wrong and worthless amendment of the Constitution is enhance in its absurdly by passing the so called Constitution amendment to States for approval” he said.
The Constitutional Lawyer explained that people are destroyed for lack of knowledge says Bible saying that the question is should the National Assembly’s amendment be laid before the several States of Nigeria.
He went on, “Now, if a Constitution is valid and legitimate, (and this is judge by the procedure of making it not the content) any amendment thereof goes to the people for approval through the legislative representative Assemblies because it is or deemed to be their document, just as the members in the representative Assembly are deemed to be the people’s direct delegated agents.
“So any Constitutional amendment will not and cannot go to the President for his assent. In Constitutional law the President plays no role in Constitutional amendment.
“Now, if a law (and mind you a Constitution is not law) is legitimate and valid, it unalterable goes to the President for his assent and not the people because laws are made by the government for the people not by the people for he government as in the case of the Constitution. The people of States through their representative Assemblies, have no role in law-making period.
“The question is what is the so called 1999 Constitution notwithstanding the perverse titling of it as “Constitution”
“First it was passed and called Decree 24 of the 1999 (i.e forced law) not by the people but by the military government in exercise of purported co-equal legislative power vested on the National Assembly that was overthrown by the military.
Is there any doubt then, that the so called 1999 Constitution is a mere law or Decree like any other law made by the National Assembly (or military government as then was) unsubjectable to the input approval or disapproval of the legislatives of the several States. There is no doubt absolutely”, Tunji Abayomi added.
Ends.
