President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday inaugurated a 21-man constitution review committee with a strict directive to only look into areas where consensus had been reached and to avoid controversial areas. He said such areas would require an enlarged body that would require the presence of ethnic nationalities, opinion leaders and cultural groups to discuss them.Jonathan spoke yesterday after inaugurating the 21-man Presidential Committee on the Review of Outstanding Constitutional Issues at the State House, Abuja, saying the committee would study past reports and draft bills that would be considered by the executive branch of government and then sent to the National Assembly. The committee, which has former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Salihu Modibbo Alfa Belgore as Chairman, was not given a time-frame.Jonathan told the committee to concentrate on areas where there was consensus, especially areas that were resolved by the 2006 Constitutional Conference which the then National Assembly couldn't take on. He said his government was determined to devote more resources, time and energy to the pressing issues of development 'so that we progressively reduce the drama of politics, the cycles of group agitations and needless contentions.'Jonathan said he chose to setup a committee instead of convening a constitution conference in order to avoid sending the wrong signals to the public who 'will feel this is another jamboree where government wants to play music to distract attention instead of facing Boko Haram or economic issues.''We believe that those areas where there is consensus, except because of the emerging realities you need to tinker about it, you package them as bills for us and send to the National Assembly but those broad headlines that there are still controversies, we may expand, we will recommend expansion of your team because those ones will require probably some ethnic nationalities, some opinion leaders, some cultural groups to represent their interests and we will have to debate those sections differently.'There are a lot of controversies about the approach. The first thinking is that let us bring Nigerians together again just like Obasanjo did, but we consider that the exercise wasted a lot of money from the Federal Government and state and individuals. If we go all out to repeat it, it will communicate the wrong signals to the public. They will feel this is another jamboree, where government wants to play music to distract attention instead of facing Boko Haram or economic issues, we want to generate debate to distract attention.'We feel that first of all, let us select some committed Nigerians, few of them, to look at those areas that we have already agreed on, package them and put it to the national assembly. Then to identify those broad areas that agreement has not been reached, then we can expand the team to look and debate those areas separately so that people will see the seriousness. That is why you see yourself so few because the first set of issues that you will examine are issues that had been reasonably agreed.'Members of the committee include Senator Udoma Udo Udoma as Vice Chairman, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, Mr. Ledum Mitee, Dr. Abubakar Saddique, Ms. Comfort Obi, Mr. Peter Esele, Prof. Oladipo Afolabi, Prof. Jerry Gana, Barr. Tessy Ikimi, Mr. G.O.S. Miri, Amb. Babagana Kingibe and Amb. Jibrin Chinade. Others are Alhaji Abubakar Mustapha, Prof. Anya O. Anya, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Alhaja Salimot Badru, Hajia Naja'atu Mohammed, Mr. Ferdinand Agu, Alhaji Wakil Mohammed and Barrister Halima Alfa.Jonathan said the settled issues include strong recommendations from past Constitutional and Political Reform Conferences on National Security, Human Rights and Social Security, People's Charter and Social Obligations; Environment and Natural Resources, Models and Structure of Government, Public Service, Power Sharing, Local Government Reforms and the Economy.Other unproblematic areas of firm agreement, according to the president, include proposals for Judiciary and Legal Reforms, constitutional amendments pertaining to the Public Service, Anti-Corruption, State Joint Local Government Account, Traditional Institutions and Cultural Reforms; and Civil Society, Labour, Trade Unions and National Media Reforms, amongst many others.On areas of reference, he said 'the task of this Committee is to study and deliberate on the resolutions, recommendations and implementation guidelines of the last National Political Reform Conference; as well as any relevant aspects of the 1994/95 Constitutional Conference. The Committee will observe that all of the recommendations were unanimously adopted; they were, however, not implemented because of the controversies that engulfed the process of legislation at that time. It is not your job to vitiate or qualify such manifestly stated items of national consensus. Rather, you may review their currency in light of subsequent developments and situate them within present needs and realities.'Also, parts of the draft documents and resolutions that culminated in the 1999 Constitution were unilaterally excised from the final document. You are to consider, and where necessary, update them in light of contemporary challenges.'He also told the committee to work towards defusing new threats and address current challenges, so that the nation would advance with greater unity and positive socio-economic transformation.He said, 'It is true that our nation had, in the past, committed considerable treasure and blood; time and sweat of good men and women, to develop broad consensus on a wide range of issues. These efforts deserve respect and sustenance, because wisdom is timeless and governance is a continuous process.'Responding, Belgore thanked the president and expressed the resolve of the committee members to make the president proud. He said, 'We shall work together. I am very happy with the team made up of ladies and gentlemen who are achievers in various fields. And by the time we are through with our assignment, I am very sure you will be very proud of us.
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