The Yoruba Socio-Political Group, Afenifere has described the ongoing process of amending the 1999 Constitution as an exercise in futility that cannot achieve any meaningful result.
Secretary-General of the group, Chief Sola Ebiseni said this in an interview with newsmen in Akure.
Ebiseni was responding on why the group, did not submit a memorandum to the Senate Committee on the Amendment of the Constitution, which ended its Public Hearing in Akure, Ondo State capital yesterday.
The former commissioner in the state said that “Afenifere believes in and advocates fundamental restructuring of Nigeria for the reinvention of a federal constitution as the agreed principles of governing Nigeria and its diverse ethnic nationalities by our founding fathers, which will ultimately replace the imposed 1999 unitary constitution.
“Amending the constitution is an exercise in futility and a waste of time and public fund.
“We cannot claim to be a federal Republic and be governed by a unitary constitution.
“We cannot claim to be in a democracy and be governed by a constitution that does not emanate by the people.
“Amendment will not cure the anomalies. You cannot put something on anything and expect it to stand.
“Every session of the two arms of the National Assembly, since 2007, has embarked on the same jamboree of constitutional amendment spending public funds on public hearings, without any result.
“The National Assembly is part of the issue to be determined in the process of restructuring and cannot legitimately be the judge in such exercise.
Ebiseni said that ” This is evident from the condemnation of the declarations of the Southern Governors in support of restructuring by both the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives while the Committees, as agents of the National Assembly, were gallivanting around the country. From nothing, nothing comes. Ex nihilo nihil fit.” – Vanguard.
