Misapplication Of Constitution, Bane Of Nigeria

A senior advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ahamba, has traced the socio-economic and political problems bedeviling the country to the misapplication of the 1999 Constitution by the government.

Ahamba said in a statement in Owerri on Monday that the problem with Nigeria was not with the content of the constitution, but the institutional failure in its application.

He said the budgetary allocation to the judicial arm of the government should be sent to the Judicial Service Council (JSC) for remittance to heads of courts in the country, quoting a section of the constitution.

“The federal government misapplied the provision of that section by sending such allocations to state governors.

“The constitution of a country is a sensitive document which should not be exposed to grassroots opinion.

“Although the 1999 Constitution is not perfect, if the three arms of government embrace selfless and patriotic objectives, the country’s problems will be manageable,’’ he said.

The senior advocate faulted the recent constitutional review by the National Assembly, arguing that the lawmakers did not have the right to review or amend the constitution.

He argued that review or amendment meant a complete change of an existing document, saying rather that constitution alteration was more appropriate because in alteration, the content could be modified without changing it.

Ahamba chaired the public hearing on constitution review conducted in Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala federal constituency in Imo.