Nigerians have rejected the blanket immunity conferred on the president, vice-president, governors and deputy governors in the 1999 Constitution.
The people have also voted against the clamour for rotational presidency between the north and south as well as among the six geo-political zones in the country.

They have however endorsed the bid by the National Assembly to create more states in some parts of the country.
This consensus of opinions came to the fore when the House of Representatives yesterday unveiled the report of its Peoples Public Sessions on the review of the 1999 Constitution.
The Peoples Public Session, which brought together people from all walks of life, commenced on November 10, 2012 across the 360 federal constituencies of Nigeria.

The process was facilitated by the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.
According to the report, 225 out of the 360 federal constituencies endorsed the amendment of Section 308 of the constitution to make the immunity provision for the president, vice-president, governors and deputy governors cover only civil proceedings while they are in office.
A total of 275 constituencies voted against the agitation for the rotation of the Office of the President between the northern and southern parts of Nigeria.

Similarly, 210 constituencies kicked against the insertion of a provision in the constitution to make the Office of President rotate among the six geo-political zones of the country.
The report indicated that rather than endorse the clamour for rotation and zoning in the choice of political leadership, Nigerians affirmed that the Office of the President or Governor of a state be filled purely on merit.
Although a cross section of the country's population has been seeking an amendment to the constitution to create a single tenure of five-seven years for the Office of the President and Governor, the proposal was roundly rejected at the public sessions.
However, the quasi-referendum showed that in spite of the presence of about 50 political parties, Nigerians still yearn for an expansion of the political space.

The report showed that 292 out of 360 federal constituencies endorsed the option that the constitution be amended to allow for independent candidacy at elections.
The people also asked for specific provisions in the constitution to take care of the interests of persons with disabilities. The womenfolk were not as lucky as a total of 251 constituencies rejected the proposal for the amendment of the constitution to address gender issues that will reserve a certain percentage of elective offices for women.

Other highlights of the report include the rejection of the proposal to give Nigerians living outside the country voting rights during elections; the rejection of the bid to abolish the existing bicameral legislature at the federal level; and the rejection of the proposal to return to the parliamentary system instead of the present presidential system of government in Nigeria.
The report also revealed that not only did Nigerians reject fiscal federalism, they also rejected the continued demand by oil-producing states to have the revenue derivation formula raised from its current 13 per cent to at least 20 per cent.

A total of 236 constituencies voted against the proposal that Nigeria should implement the principle of federalism that allows the states to control up to 50 per cent of their resources and pay the remainder to the federation.
In another breath, 257 constituencies endorsed the proposal that the constitution should be amended to enable the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) send proposals for revenue allocation directly to the National Assembly in order to avoid undue delays in the amendment of the revenue allocation formula.

The proposal that the constitution be amended to separate the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation from the Office of the Accountant General of the States was upheld by 277 constituencies, while 287 constituencies endorsed the proposal to separate the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation from the position of the Minister of Justice.
Deputy Speaker of the House and Chairman, House Ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, explained that the presentation of the collated results, which was earlier scheduled to hold on Thursday, January 31, 2013, was postponed to ensure that more time was given to lawmakers to verify that the results reflected the voting in their various constituencies.
Ihedioha said the results presented yesterday were painstakingly collated, verified and its integrity fully assured.

“From the report made available to the House, the sessions across the 360 federal constituencies of Nigeria were all very well attended by ordinary Nigerians and also by representatives of labour, the Nigerian Bar Association and other professional organisations, Nigerian Union of Teachers, pro-democracy and civil society organisations, youths and students groups, women groups, special interest groups and indeed, the plurality of interests in the constituencies such as artisans, journalists, religious groups, town unions and associations.
“Deliberations at each of these sessions were free, robust, and participatory. Nigerians got the opportunity to state their minds and air their views. The results are the voice of the Nigerian people who have expressed their views on what changes they would like to see in any amendment being made to the national legal grundnorm – the Constitution of Nigeria,” he said.

Speaker of the House, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, who formally received the report from the House Ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review, noted that the exercise had clearly shown that several issues, which the political elite including lawmakers had promoted as popular views, were not exactly the case when they were taken to the people at the grassroots.
“The average Nigerian, irrespective of his level of formal education, is politically more sophisticated than we presume. The seamless manner in which stakeholders engaged the entirety of the template was a pointer to the fact that today’s leadership will ignore the silent majority at its peril.

“Discussions on several subject were heavily spiced with criticisms of existing policies and lamentation over the culture of monopoly of governance by the elite.
“It was also clearly evident that on several issues we, as representatives of the people, must employ the opinion of the vocal majority with circumspection.
“Some items on the template, which from the preponderant opinion of the media, suggest general acceptance as desirable were completely rejected by the ordinary Nigerians and that with plausible arguments and justification,” Tambuwal said.
In a goodwill message, Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Joy Emodi, hailed the report, describing it as historic.

Emodi said that given the far-reaching procedure adopted by the House in getting the views of Nigerians on the constitution, the clamour for a Sovereign National Conference might no longer be relevant.
She commended the leadership of the House for their initiative in taking the constitution review to the people instead of the old method of allowing the elite to make a constitution without considering the feelings of the people.
Other institutions such as the UK Department for International Development (DFID), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as well as the NBA also hailed the report and urged the House to do more in terms of reflecting the views of the people in the real process of constitution alteration.

Op nice one but why no source

nothing good can come out of Nigeria,

phillip001: nothing good can come out of Nigeria,

phillip, don't talk dat way. Are u not a Nigerian?
Let's b positive in our opinions @least...

phillip001: nothing good can come out of Nigeria,

THEN GO TO WHERE YOU CAN FEEL IS GOOD NA COS NOTHING GOOD CAN COME FROM YOU TO US WHO HAVE NO OTHER COUNTRY TO CALL BUT NIGERIA