Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has reiterated his call for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to revisit the Report of the 2014 Constitutional Conference to draft a new constitution for the country, rather than convening a fresh national constituent assembly.
Chief George’s statement comes in response to a recent visit by “The Patriots,” a group of eminent personalities led by former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, to President Tinubu. During the visit, the group urged the president to send an executive bill to the National Assembly proposing the drafting of a new people’s constitution. President Tinubu assured them of their demands.
In a conversation with our correspondent, Chief George emphasized the need to revisit the 2014 Confab Report, arguing that involving the National Assembly in drafting a new constitution would be a wasteful exercise. He noted that a comprehensive report had already been produced during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, which was later shelved by the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari. According to George, the government should revisit this report, bring it to public attention, debate it, and make every effort to produce a new constitution.
As a member of the 2014 Constitutional Conference, George recalled that it took six months to produce the Confab Report, which addressed every national issue and reached unanimous decisions on all matters. He expressed concerns that asking the National Assembly to draft a new constitution would be akin to “turning the hands of the clock backwards,” and reiterated that the 2014 report should be the focus instead.
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“With all due respect to Chief Emeka Anyaoku and others, everything Nigerians are currently agitating for—state police, devolution of powers, and more—was addressed in the 2014 report,” George stated. “I was part of the Constituent Assembly, as was Chief Anyaoku, along with other respected Nigerians. We don’t need another gathering of a crowd or additional spending. The report we need is already there.”
George questioned the practicality of starting a new constitutional process now and stressed that the new constitution, which Nigerians need to replace the 1999 Constitution—described by George as “militaristic in its setup”—should be made available during President Tinubu’s current term.
“If we ask the National Assembly to start a new process, how long will it take? The new constitution we seek must be ready before the end of President Tinubu’s term,” George asserted. “The 2014 Confab Report should be brought out for all Nigerians to discuss and debate. We can’t continue with this present constitution; it’s not working. It’s too military in its setup and doesn’t give people the power to control their own affairs.”
Reflecting on Tinubu’s past disinterest in the 2014 Constitutional Conference, George added, “If Bola Tinubu is now interested—because back then he showed no interest when he was asked to nominate people for the Constituent Assembly—it’s time to act. ‘Akara ti dori akayin ni isiyin, o di eegun,’ which means ‘The bean cake is already burnt to charcoal; it’s too late to salvage it.’ Let them bring out the 2014 Confab Report for debate and make necessary amendments. We cannot afford to roll back. The country must move forward. I do not support the idea that the National Assembly should draft a new constitution.”