NATIONAL THINK-THANK CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE
Issued by: NATIONAL THINK-TANK
Tel: 08030623986, 08072758880
Origin: Jerome Okolo, Membership Committee, National Think-Tank
E-mail: jerome@nationalthinktank.org
Date: Thursday, 06 September 2007
NATIONAL THINK-THANK CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE
The National Think-Tank has constituted a Committee to Review the 1999 Constitution. This committee will examine all provisions of the 1999 Constitution that do not meet the Country’s needs at this time, suggest new statutes, and make recommendations on the processes required to canvass further opinion to produce a great constitution. It shall aim to produce a document that will provide the basis for good governance and sustainable development of Nigeria, as a strong, united and democratic country.
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and the leadership of the National Assembly are determined to revisit the review of the 1999 Constitution with a view to excising the structural, procedural and practical defects inherent in the current Constitution. This constitution review committee, which is made up of renowned experts in constitutional law, several Senior Advocates of Nigeria, other legal practitioners and prominent members of other professions, will work on the constitution review. Documents to be consulted by the committee will include all the materials and proposals emanating from National Political Reform Conference, Presidential Technical Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitutional Reform and the PRO National Conference Organisations (PRONACO). This exercise is the National Think-Tank’s contribution to Nigeria’s obvious desire to make a document, which shall be true to the declaration in the existing document’s first line: “We the people of Nigeria… do hereby make, enact and give to ourselves the following Constitution”.
The National Think-Tank constitution review committee will be independent, well funded by the organization, and its work will last 12 months. During this time, the committee will very meticulously analyze all materials of the preceding constitution review attempts, examine international experience in constitution-making in emerging democracies, canvas opinions & memoranda throughout the country and amongst all spectra of civil society, Governments of all levels, political parties, organized labour and academia.
The report of the constitution review committee of the National Think-Tank, along with the expected huge volume of appendices, will be made available to the President, National Assembly, State Assemblies and Governors, civil society organisations and the Nigerian public as a solid basis for any Government programme to review of the 1999 Constitution.
