Director of Research for the Afenifere Group, Dr Akin Fapohunda, has criticised the Federal Government’s ongoing constitutional review, calling it “a cosmetic exercise” that fails to address Nigeria’s core structural challenges.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, October 22, Fapohunda described the move to amend over 70 sections of the 1999 Constitution and alter more than 80 clauses within six months as unrealistic.
He questioned the sincerity and capacity of the process, saying it was bound to fail.
“What the Federal Government wants to do is to amend the Constitution in about 74 places, change 83 clauses. Do they have the capacity to do that in the next six months before the next election?” he asked.
The constitutional review was recently reaffirmed by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, who said at a public hearing in Abuja that the proposals were designed to strengthen inclusive governance.
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Fapohunda, however, argued that the exercise served the interests of the political class rather than the people, noting that proposals to create 46 new states were driven by greed.
“They want to create 46 new states so there will be security votes for the governors; there will be money to buy SUVs, all of them want to be governors in these states,” he stated.
He maintained that only a full decentralisation of power could stabilise the federation. “What is state police? The call needs to be decentralised entirely,” he said.
Fapohunda proposed adopting two constitutions, one for the federal government and another for the six geopolitical zones, to reflect regional diversity and autonomy.
According to him, devolution of powers would lower political tension, enable resource control, and restore true federalism.