Leaders of the Middle Belt Region have transmitted a draft bill to President Bola Tinubu and the leadership of the National Assembly, seeking the reinstatement of the 1963 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Conveners at a Media engagement in Abuja gave 10 reasons behind this proposal which they consider compelling, including the fact that the 1963 constitution is the only one negotiated by the country’s Ethnic Nationalities.
To them, the process of accomplishing these proposals is not cumbersome, but requires strong political will to pass a bill into law which provides for the repeal of 4 Military decrees, while incorporating contemporary realities into the 1963 constitution.
They argued that since previous ammendments to the 1999 constitution have failed to meet the yearnings of Nigerians, no further ammendment will address the peculiar challenges.
The Middle Belt region are those territories that were part of the Northern protectorate, but outside the sphere of authority of the Kanem Borno Empire and the Sokoto Caliphate as at the date of 1914 amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates.
They include present day Adamawa, Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Taraba and Plateau States of Nigeria.
Editor: Ken Eseni
