Nigeria Takes Key Step to Rewrite Constitution | Voice of America - English
Nigeria took the first major step this week toward rewriting its constitution.
Since returning to civilian rule in 1999,Nigerians have been calling for a new constitution to replace the onedrawn up under years of military dictatorship. The last attemptto pass a new constitution failed in 2006 when the national assemblyrejected one of the proposed 120 amendments that would have paved theway for then president Olusegun Obasanjo to run for a third four-yearterm. Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who heads the88-member special constitutional review panel, told VOA the committeewill be guided by what it considers is in the best interest of Nigeria. "Ican tell you that no tenure of anybody, be it a local governmentchairman, governor or president, or even the senator will be extendedby one day in that exercise," he said. "That I can assure the wholeworld. We are going to do a very transparent and professional job." "Weare not going to be carried away by emotions or be distracted by anyperson's personal view. We are going to put everything on the table andcan only be driven by patriotism and the best interest of Nigeria," he added. Theprocess by which the Nigerian constitution is amended is complex andtime-consuming. And it is far from clear whether a consensus could bereached on contentious issues such as the devolution of power betweenthe center and federating states, electoral reforms and revenueallocation. Nigeria has been faltering from religious and ethnicdiscord, which some consider a result of a flawed system that hasresulted in neglect, poverty and agitation. The bombing ofpipelines and kidnapping of oil workers in the Niger Delta by militantswho say they are fighting for a greater share of the region's oilwealth have cut output from Africa's biggest oil industry by a fifth inrecent years. Today, the oil producing region receives 13percent of oil revenues, a far cry from 100 percent received by otherregions in the 1960s and 70s when the country relied on peanuts, palmoil and cocoa.