Nigeria: The 1999 Constitution should be scrapped – Bisi Akande

A former Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande has called for the removal of the 1999 Constitution.

On Tuesday, at the launching ceremony of a book Nigeria: The path we refused to take, written by the Secretary General of Afenifere, Bashorun Seinde Arogbofa, Akande called for  the dissolution of the 1999 Constitution, saying it protects criminal impunity in governance.

Akande, who maintained that the constitution should be scrapped and a new one written for the benefit of the people, rather than amending it also emphasised that the ongoing review efforts by the National Assembly would not solve the discrepancies in the Constitution.

Speaking further at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), venue of the event, Akande suggested a re-adoption of the 1963 regional constitution, stressing that it will enable a transition to the writing of a more acceptable and unified constitution.

“The 1999 Constitution is the greatest Nigeria’s misadventure since Lord Lugard amalgamation of 1914. The constitution puts emphasis on spending money rather than making it.The Constitution breeds and protects practices and criminal impunity in governance. It can never be beneficially reviewed and the ongoing adjustment or amendment can only totally bloat the essence of national values and accelerate the amalgamation of Nigeria.”