Ndoma Egba
Diana Okon-Effiong, Calabar
Although Nigeria’s constitution does not provide for a referendum on the report of the national conference, its report will be subjected to normal legislative process if brought before the National Assembly.
This assurance was given by the Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, in an interview with journalists in Calabar in respect of the expected outcome of the on-going confab’s report.
Ndoma-Egba also reacted to President Goodluck Jonathan’s indication that decisions at the National Conference could be subjected to a referendum in spite of the fact that there are no laws presently approving such exercise.
He said: “For now there is no provision for a referendum in the 1999 constitution. But if the report is sent to the national assembly it will be subjected to our normal legislative processes and debated like any other report before us. If there is no law it cannot be subjected to a referendum. Right now we are in another round of constitutional amendment.You know that section 9 of the constitution that provided for amendment does not provide for the making of the new constitution. So as it is, we can just go on amending and amending and amending the constitution”
He said that the committee had contemplated the need for a provision that would allow for the making of a brand new constitution for Nigeria.
“So within the committee we started thinking that a time will come that we will want a brand new constitution; that the society is dynamic and the constitution at every time should be a moving document. So we now said among ourselves `why don’t we now contemplate a provision that will allow for the making of a new constitution? Inthe provision that we have proposed we have made a referendum out of that proposal. But whether that proposal will pass or not is another matter because it was hotly debated on the floor of the senate a few days ago.
“A lot of people thought we were trying to create an opportunity for the report of the conference to pass through us. But that is not correct”, Ndoma-Egba said.
He said that a new dimension to scary internal security challenges where chemical weapons were allegedly used by some insurgents on residents of some local communities in Benue by insurgents was worrisome.He also appealed to the security agencies in Nigeria to be eternally awake to such challenges.
“The matter, to the best of my knowledge, is still being investigated. So we cannot be categorical as to whether chemical weapons were used. But certainly even as an allegation it is worrisome. And I think it is an alert to our security services that there is a potential of our internal security challenge assuming more grievous dimension. It is a wake-up call. It is an allegation that should be taken very seriously and thoroughly investigated,’’ he said.
He also called on Nigerians especially young people to aggregate their choices in life to match with what they would eventually become.
“Our lives are the sum total of the choices we make. I have known that from when I was young that whatever we become is the sum total of the various choices we make, and that is why one has to be very, very careful about the choices one made in life. For me, religion has been very helpful in those choices because life is like a high sea, you need a compass to tell you where you are, what direction you are going to and religion saves as that compass. Religion is important to the issue of faith because when you are confounded you can fall back on your faith for guidance”, he said.
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