The Eminent Patriots of Nigeria, comprising elder statespersons, intellectuals, and civil society leaders, has called for an immediate constitutional framework that will return Nigeria to a truly federal system of government.
The declaration was issued during their National Constitutional Summit held on Thursday.
The forum, convened under the leadership of Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Commonwealth Secretary-General, unanimously rejected the current 1999 Constitution in its entirety.
Participants denounced the document as an undemocratic imposition by Nigeria’s former military regime, calling instead for a completely new constitutional framework.
Key among the summit’s resolutions was the insistence that any new constitution must be drafted through a democratic process.
The group specifically advocated for the election of a Constituent Assembly whose members would be tasked with creating Nigeria’s foundational law.
The proposed reforms would include provisions for independent political candidacy, marking a significant departure from the current party-centric system.
The Eminent Patriots emphasized that only through such fundamental restructuring could Nigeria achieve the balanced federation envisioned by its founding fathers. Their position reflects growing national consensus on the need to replace what many consider an illegitimate constitutional order with a genuinely democratic alternative.
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