Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega has called for an amendment of the 1999 Constitution to explicitly recognise the equal rights of all citizens to abolish the “indigenes” versus “settlers” debate.
Jega said this as part of his recommendations for the 2027 general elections made during a convocation lecture at Bauchi State University over the weekend.
In the lecture titled, “Safeguarding Nigeria’s Future: Prioritizing Citizen’s Welfare and Security Amidst Challenge”, the university don said, “The constitution should be amended to explicitly recognise the equal rights of all citizens, irrespective of their ethnic status or affiliation, and regardless of whether they are perceived as ‘indigenes’ or ‘settlers’. Citizenship rights should, and must, triumph over any other particularistic, primordial rights.”
Also, he called for a restructuring of the nation’s federation to devolve power from the central government to the state and local governments.
Jega recommended that in doing this, the best federalism models could be learnt from India, Canada and the United States of America.
“In the context of the preceding discussion and analysis, to safeguard Nigeria’s future and citizens welfare amidst security challenges, one can offer a number of practical recommendations, relating to the articulated structural, systemic and governance, as well as value-orientation issues highlighted in the presentation.
“With regard to the structure of the Nigerian federation, it is highly recommended as follows: That before 2027, some form of restructuring of the Nigerian federation should be embarked upon through evidence-based constitutional reforms, the objectives of which should be to deconcentrate powers and resources from the federal tier and to spread them to those of the state and local governments.
“In doing this, best practices could be learnt from model federations, such as India, Canada and the USA in the areas of revenue generation and sharing and adapted to our local context and circumstances.”
He frowned at the idea of creating more states or LGs.
“No additional states and LGAs should be created. The additional resources current states would get from the de-concentration of power and resources as recommended above would make all the 37 states and FCT financially viable and facilitative of grassroots development.
“The cost of governance at both the federal, state and local tiers of governance needs to be drastically cut, and measures introduced to entrench transparency and accountability and effective anti-corruption oversight.”
He also recommended reforming the judiciary to insulate it from manipulation by the ruling elite especially during election ligitation.
“With regards to addressing systemic and governance challenges, it is recommended as follows: Amend the Electoral Act 2022, so as to remarkably improve upon the legal framework for future elections with integrity. In particular, pay attention to reforming the role of political parties in the leadership recruitment and candidate selection processes at all levels and tiers of governance.
”Pursue reforms to improve and protect the integrity of the judiciary, as well as find a way of insulating them from the corruptive politics of electoral dispute resolution through litigation,” Jega said.
This is just as he called for refining the process of appointment into INEC to protect the institution from capture by crooked politicians and partisan pressures and influences.