Members of the House of Representatives from the South-East geopolitical zone have called for a provision for referendum in the Nigerian constitution to open up avenues for discussions on self-determination by Nigerians.

They also insisted that Nigeria was due for restructuring and that it would be done, no matter how long it would take.



The 1999 Constitution makes no provision for a referendum, leaving the National Assembly as the only legal representative gathering for deliberations on the governance of Nigeria.

But South-East lawmakers, who spoke with Sunday PUNCH, said a provision for referendum was long due because it was part of the fundamental rights of the people to self-determination.

They noted that a referendum and the debate on restructuring of Nigeria were tied together.

The members were embittered that a South-East Development Commission Bill, which they introduced as a vehicle to develop the region, was thrown out by the House on Thursday.

According to them, such actions are largely responsible for the cries of marginalisation and agitation in the South-East and other parts of the country.

One of the lawmakers, Mr. Igariwey Iduma-Enwo, who is from Ebonyi State, told Sunday PUNCH that a referendum would further open up the democratic space.

Iduma-Enwo, a lawyer, said, “A referendum is an element of human rights. It is an avenue to feel the pulse of the people about a particular issue or issues.

“We should have it in our constitution because a referendum also falls within the context of the restructuring of Nigeria, which a lot of people are today talking about.

“Other countries and advanced democracies, including the US, have it in their constitutions. So, why can’t we have it in Nigeria?”

The Chairman, House Committee on Works, Mr. Toby Okechukwu, also supported the idea of a referendum if the “merits” of such a provision would be favourable to Nigeria.

“We have to discuss it on the basis of the merits. If we find it justifiable to use a referendum to discuss a progressive agenda for Nigeria, why not?” he added.

Okechukwu, who is from Enugu State, recalled that the country’s constitution in the 1960s, after independence, made provision for referendum and wondered why it was removed from the later versions.

“Why was it in the independence constitution in the 1960s? If our founding fathers, in their own wisdom, included it in the constitution, why was it removed?

“We should look at the issue of referendum and juxtapose it with the United Nations Charter on the Rights to Self-Determination,” he stated.

Reacting to the decision of the House on the South-East Development Commission Bill, Okechukwu told SUNDAY PUNCH that the zone was denied a rare opportunity to advance its development.

“This was an avenue to encourage development of infrastructure and investments, but it was thrown out just because of other factors,” he said.

In a similar vein, Jerry Alagboso said there was nothing wrong in having a referendum in the constitution.

He explained that all Nigerians would be better off with it, besides the Igbo, who were denied a development commission “for no justifiable reasons.”

Alagboso described the rejection of the development commission bill as “unfortunate,” noting that lawmakers from the North had a wrong impression that it was an agenda to promote Biafra.

However, when contacted, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas, said, “The National Assembly is for all Nigerians. It is a representative assembly and every Nigerian is represented here.

“Whatever the grievances are, channel them through your representatives and they will be adequately addressed.”

bappahman:
Members of the House of Representatives from the South-East geopolitical zone have called for a provision for referendum in the Nigerian constitution to open up avenues for discussions on self-determination by Nigerians.

They also insisted that Nigeria was due for
restructuring and that it would be done, no
matter how long it would take.

punchng.com/restructuring-igbo-reps-seek-national-referend

Super1Star:
Now you are talking.

All those macabre zombie dance on the streets of your gully eroded land was mere early morning jogging exercise.

The constitution needs to be amended and will be amended.

Kondomatic:
And what do you think motivated the reps to speak?

“We are convinced that the cause of Nigeria’s federalism will be well and truly advanced if we return to the pre-1996 evolutionary path: a balanced federal structure which recognises fully the legitimate claims of all ethnic groups for self-determination and where no single entity among the federating units will be strong or powerful enough to hold the others to ransom, but where each of the federating units is large enough, both in terms of size and population as well as of resources, to be viable, self-reliant and dynamic. Other relevant factors include the homogeneity of each federating unit, geographic contiguity among the units of a region and demonstrable willingness to be together. In pursuance of the principle of self-determination and in the interest of the sustainability, any state or community shall have the opportunity to decide, through the democratic process, the region of its choice in the light of these criteria. In the light of the foregoing criteria, we propose the restructuring of Nigeria into six federating units to be known as Regions. The six regions shall be Western, Eastern, Southern, North-Western, North-Eastern and Middle Belt Regions. The Western Region will group together the following states: Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo and all other Yoruba-speaking communities wherever they may be in the Federation. The states that will constitute the other regions will be decided by their people subject to the observation of the principle of self-determination”. With the restructuring into six viable and potentially dynamic and prosperous regions, individually and collectively serving as a countervailing force to the centralising tendencies of the centre, Nigeria will be constituted a Federation of six Regions.

The function of the Federal Government must be clearly spelt out. Residual powers must lie with the Regions. The Federal Government shall have no power to interfere in or take over any function of the Regional Government. Similarly, it shall have no power to interfere with the operations of any Regional Government. Each Region shall determine the number functions and power of its constituent institutions.

The National Assembly shall be bi-cameral: House of the People and the Upper House. Members shall be elected or designated for a period of four years with the possibility of re-election. Membership of the House of the People shall be by universal suffrage with constituencies delineated on the basis of population, contiguity, homogeneity and territorial expanse. Each region shall send an equal number of representatives to the upper House, one-quarter of whom must be traditional rulers from within that region. Each region will be free to determine the basis and method of election/selection of its representative to that House.

The Head of Government shall be the Prime Minister who shall be appointed by the President. The person to be so appointed, shall be the leader of the party or of a coalition of parties which has the support of the majority of the members of the House of the People. Whenever he loses such support he shall resign or be dismissed.

The Prime Minister shall be free to form his Government which must receive the immediate endorsement of the House of the People through a vote of confidence. The Prime Minister shall resign or be dismissed whenever the majority of the House of the People withdraws its support.

There shall be provision for power-sharing in the Constitution. Power configuration shall be accorded a zoning status on rotational basis. For this purpose, five key portfolios (such as Internal Affairs and Petroleum) in addition to the office of the Prime Minister, shall be identified in the Constitution and be assigned to five Deputy Prime Ministers drawn from the five regions, other than Region from which the Prime Minster hails. For avoidance of doubt, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Ministers and all members of government shall be elected members of the House of the People.”

“The principle of derivation in which each Region will retain an overwhelming share, if not all, of the revenue accruing from the tax imposed on the natural resources within its territory, shall apply. Revenue from the exploitation and custom duties shall be put in distributable pool account to be shared between the Federal and the Regional Governments in accordance with an agreed formula, but with special consideration being given to the Region(s) where the facilities for their collection are located. Every effort must be made to achieve self-reliance in mobilising resources by all the regions and the Federation. In particular, no region must take proportionally more than what it contributes to the Federation financially. There shall be no direct Federal allocation to state and local governments. With regard to the power of personal and direct taxation, such as personal income tax, capital-gains tax, sales tax and property tax, governments shall have the right to levy them that provided that, in order to ensure efficiency, a uniform tax base should be applied and tax rate split between the Federal and regional governments. The rate of tax can differ from region to region so that regional revenue can be enhanced to respond to the special needs of a particular region and in accordance with the ability and willingness of the citizens to pay higher taxes”.

Super1Star:


Whatever motivated him to speak is his business.

The fundamentals is that constitution review to recognise national confab, referendum, plebiscite and secession is the ONLY WAY to go.

Threat of secession will not move anybody, because it is an Armageddon even Nnamid Kunnu, the Merlin of Biafrau.d will not dare to venture into.

At last you are all coming to your senses. As far back as April 1994 we told all of you restructuring is the only way. Rather than support it, all the regions went against it and you are now all back to the same square 1 we provided as the only solution 23years ago.

This is was the Yorubas advise 23years ago that you are all just coming to terms with: