The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has said the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution was not intended to dent the solemnity, integrity and infallibility of the Constitution.
He made the clarification on Friday at a two-day retreat in Lagos organised by the Senate Ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review, with the theme: “Towards Ensuring Governance Accountability in Nigerian Federalism”.
According to Saraki, the National Assembly was by the process, celebrating and affirming the inviolability of the Constitution and its integrity, adding that the process was in no way a ritual or routine.
The Senate President was quoted as saying “This National Assembly is seeking to further consolidate and entrench the essence of our Constitution as the only basis for the exercise of all powers under a constitutional democracy forged under the rule of law.
“Since independence, our nation has sought to develop for itself workable constitution on which her unity can be perfected. Other nations have trodden a similar path.
“For instance, following the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War in 1776, the original 13 States of the United States of America operated an Article of Confederacy.
“This is a necessary but unwieldy document that institutionalised a central government. The Article lasted for eight years before it was jettisoned for the current Constitution of the United States”.
Senator Saraki said constitution making had always been a challenging issue in any polity.
(NAN)
