The Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said the recent move to amend the 1999 Constitution became necessary to address its shortcomings.
Gbajabiamila was quoted in his address at the ongoing zonal public hearing on constitution review in Lagos State on Tuesday.
He said the 1999 Constitution was a product of a hurried national consensus taken to return the country to democracy.
“Our constitution falls short of this standard because the 1999 Constitution is the product of a hurried national compromise that we entered into two decades ago in order to ensure that the military returned to the barracks and that we returned to democratic government,” he said.
While noting that it was not the first time the task was taken, he said the present one by the 9th assembly might be the most important constitutional amendment process in the nation’s recent history because the decisions that would be taken will have far-reaching consequences for the future of Nigeria.
“A nation’s constitution is the foundation of its existence. It is supposed to set the terms of our nationhood and define who we are in a manner that reflects both our common truths and highest aspirations.
“It was always the intention that we will one day as one people and one nation, return to amend this document so that it gives voice to the yearnings of the Nigerian people and sets out in clear details how we intend to achieve the shared ambitions of our nationhood.
“Providence has cast upon the 9th National Assembly the responsibility to write such a constitution for the Nigerian people,” he said.
