Constitution Review/Amendment: Group Seeks Creation Of Ikwerre State, Submits Memorandum To Senate Committee

With unending calls for the review and amendment of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, the Senate has bolstered public confidence with the sitting of its ad hoc Committee at the Obi Wali International Conference Center in Port Harcourt, and presented an opportunity for citizens, stakeholders and organizations to lend their voices with a view to knit out a legal frameworkthat would stand the test for posterity, and save the country from the impending, precipitous collapse.

Many Nigerians have argued that the 1999 Constitution was nothing more than a ‘copy and paste’ document designed by the military for selfish, political and parochial gains.

It is on that premise that the Ikwerre Peoples Congress (IPC) World-wide and Diaspora, a socio-economic and political think-tank of the Ikwerre Ethnic Nationality, penned down its position and cataloging what it thought was wrong with the 1999 constitution.

IPC, which claims that Ikwerre constitutes one of the largest ethnic nations in the Niger Delta of Nigeria, with about thirteen million populations, says they would remain eternally grateful to Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawanif a new constitution is formulated and an Ikwerre State created for the ethnic nationality.

The Ikwerre group, under the leadership of renown activist, Mr. Livingstone Wechiestated in the memorandum that Ikwerre nation, being one of the highest contributors of revenue to the national purse, viewed the 1999 Constitution as not truly representing the stake, interest and consent of the indigenous peoples of Nigeria as represented by the various ethnic groups.

“It is time to fix this Constitution once and for all.  It is our call that this Constitution be scrapped knowing that it is a military document known as Decree 24 of 1999. We believe that Sovereignty belongs to the People and so this sovereign right of the people should be fully exercised as provided for in the disputed 1999 Constitution to enable the indigenous Land owning Ethnic Nationalities to voluntarily agree and come up with a truly peoples Constitution for a new Nigeria.

“This will help arrest the growing tension and conflict across the various regions which currently threatens the unity of Nigeria”, IPC stated in the memorandum which was jointly signed by Livingstone Wechie (Chairman); Comrade Innocent Okocha (Vice Chairman); Stanley Worgu (General Secretary) and Bright Chukwumati, (Director) IPC Diaspora.

The IPC stressed that legislative mandate of the National Assembly does not extend to constitution making, as according to them, just as it is not within the powers of the hired management of a company to make or remake the Memorandum and Articles of Association of that company but vests exclusively in the shareholders of the company as owners of the enterprise.

It declared: “In the case of a country, that power vests exclusively in the Constituent peoples of the country as an incident of their sovereignty.  In fact, the authors of the 1999 Constitution acknowledged this universal truism inS.14(2)(a) of the same 1999 Constitution”.

IPC described as disputable, three paragraphs in the preamble to the 1999 Constitution namely, (1) “We the people of Nigeria”, (2) “Having firmly and solemnly resolved to live in unity as one indivisible and indissoluble nation” and (3) “Do hereby make, enact and give unto ourselves the following Constitution”, opining that these are fault lines that could be cured after diagnosis.

Itemizing an 18-point proposed areas of interest, the IPC urged the Constitution Review/Amendment Committee opined that Nigeria would be a better place for all and sundry if serious consideration is given to these proposals.

First and foremost, the group advocated for a new constitution based on a voluntarily agreed terms by the indigenous ethnic people that would be written by the people themselves.

The group went on as follows: “That the 1999 Constitution should expressly provide for the fundamental right to Self Determination through a referendum in line with international Laws which Nigeria is signatory to.

Among other propositions made by the IPC was that the Land Use Act should be repealed and ownership rights of lands and waters conferred on the original land owners which are the indigenous people of Nigeria respectively where such land and waters are situated in line with true federalism.

“That ownership rights of all natural resources should be conferred on the indigenous people of Nigeria based on the Communities where such resources are located.

“That the Second schedule of the 1999 Constitution should be reviewed with a view to unbundle out rightly, the 68 items on the Exclusive List and give most of the Legislative powers to States and Local Government Area.

“That the Constitution should be amended to create Ikwerre State. Ikwerre is more than qualified to be a state on its own and we have all the natural and human capacity to deserve a state of our own. We make this demand in the interest of justice, equity and fairness”.

IPC further requested that the Constitution should be amended to expunge the clauses that provide that Nigeria union is not negotiable.

“If this is done, it gives the room for the indigenous ethnic nationalities to always voluntarily discuss their future and progress. It will also destroy the Master-Servant and Second class citizen’s relationship currently bedeviling Nigeria. Therefore,Nigeria’s union should be made negotiable at all times in the interest of justice, peace and sustainable development”, they noted.