‘Nigeria Needs A New Constitution’ – Moghalu Tells Tinubu
Kingsley Moghalu, a former Presidential aspirant, has advised President Bola Tinubu on the urgent need for a constitutional reform to fix the economy.
Moghalu made this call on Monday in a post on his X handle.
The call comes against the backdrop of the ‘Patriots” visit to the President to seek constitutional reforms.
The group, led by former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, were received by the President, who, while not conceding to the calls for constitutional reforms by the group, assured them of his willingness to transform the ailing economy of the country.
“I respectfully disagree with President Bola Tinubu‘s response to the visit to him by The Patriots, led by former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, during which the group (of which I am a member) pressed for a new Constitution for Nigeria as a matter of urgency, and recommending specific steps to achieve this,” Moghalu wrote on X.
“While PBAT received the eminent elder statesman and his colleagues with the appropriate dignity and protocols (“this is a group I cannot ignore”, Tinubu noted), the President asserted that economic reform (and the crisis that it has created in the country) is his priority right now, but that his government would of course study the recommendations of The Patriots and respond (hopefully with action and not merely words).”
Moghalu, an ex-presidential candidate of the Young Progressive Party in the 2019 general elections, warned that no true economic transformation can be achieved without a change to the present constitution.
“What Nigeria’s leaders fail to understand is that it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to bring a fundamental fix to Nigeria’s economy in the absence of a new constitution that is anchored on real federalism, and preferably anchored on a regional structure of 6-12 regions,” Moghalu went on.
In a twist, the Ex-Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria described Nigeria as a country “but not yet a nation.”
He warned that the country could face a possible split if the issue of constitutional reforms is brushed aside.
“There is no unity of purpose, no cohering worldview. And this is because the country means different things to different groups.
“Nigeria as a pluralistic country that refuses to turn its plurality into a workable nationhood through an appropriate federal constitution, runs the risk of disintegration in the medium to long term,” Moghalu ended.
