Anyaoku
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Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, on Friday, visited President Bola Tinubu at Also Rock and tried to convince him of the need for a new constitution for Nigeria.
However the president did not seem to be well disposed to that idea.
Anyaoku had led some members of his group, The Patriot, including Senator Shehu Sani, Mike Ozekhome, Labaran Maku, Senator Ben Obi, and Segun Osoba, among others, on the visit, saying that it has become necessary for the country to have a new Constitution, considering the recurrent flare ups in the country.
He noted that the current constitution is not strong enough to take the country to the Promised Land, and blamed it for the country’s multifarious challenges.
The Patriots urged President Tinubu to immediately send a presidential bill to the National Assembly so that a constituent assembly would be constituted with a mandate to produce a new Constitution that would take into consideration the plurality of the country.
They further suggested that draft constitution should also be subjected to a National referendum that should give the people a new constitution, which could be ready in nine months, that would address the country’s several challenges.
In response to the request, President Tinubu expressed respect for the Patriot’s contributions to national discourse, assuring them that their requests would be reviewed.
However, he also made it clear that his major focus was on retooling the economy for sustainable growth rather than working on drafting a new Constitution.
The president restated his commitment to national unity and acknowledged the need to address constitutional reforms, promising to consider the proposed constitutional review and other options once his agenda for the economy is accomplished.
