Nigeria Cannot Have New Constitution – Omo-Agege

Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, has shot down calls for a new constitution, noting that granting such request would be impossible.

Omo-Agege said the Senate Committee on the review of the constitution is working “in accordance with the extant legal order which is the 1999 constitution.”

The deputy senate president revealed this at the on-going 2-day national public hearing on the review of the 1999 constitution, in Abuja.

He said, “specifically, section 9 of the constitution empowers the National Assembly to alter the provisions of the constitution and prescribes the manner in which it is to be done.

” Unfortunately, it does not make similar provision to provide mechanism for replacing or re-writing an entirely new constitution.”

He also asserted that attempting to create a new constitution “without altering the provisions of section 9 of the constitution would amount to gross violation of our oath of allegiance to the constitution.”

The public hearing is on-going.