The Federal Government has spent an estimated N15.932 billion in the process of amending the 1999 Constitution in the last 20 years.

This amount includes the funds deployed directly by the Executive Arm of the government and those expended through periodic appropriations by the National Assembly.

It will be recalled that what is today known as the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria was originally Decree No. 24 of May 5, 1999 promulgated into force by the Federal Military Government under the leadership of General Abdulsalam Abubakar, as Head of State and Commander -In-Chief of the Nigeria Armed Forces.

The 1999 Constitution was prepared by the then military administration as part of the political transition programme that culminated in the exit of the military and the handover of power to a democratically elected civilian administration on May 29, 1999.

By 2003, the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo had become inundated with agitations for a review of the Constitution because of the many lapses, gaps and contradictions identified in the document. Many lawyers and civil society organisations saw the 1999 Constitution for what it is- a decree imposed on the nation by a benevolent military regime.

They faulted the claim in the Constitution that it was made by “We, The People” and given to ourselves.

In January 2005, Obasanjo yielded to the agitation by setting up the National Political Reform Conference (NPRC) with a budget of N932million.

The administration gave a breakdown of the cost as follows: Delegates to the conference were to earn N21.68 million as sitting allowance and N650.25 million as allowances in lieu of accommodation; N1.7 million for return tickets from London, Washington, Beijing and Johannesburg in addition to N28, 800 for return flights to Abuja for the inaugural session and subsequent conference meetings; N14, 400 for delegates for airport taxi and local transportation within Abuja ; provision for, at least, two CVU long wheel cars to be hired and fuelled at N2.9 million.

Although, the administration faced stiff opposition regarding the composition of delegates and cost, the conference held successfully but all the efforts were eventually scuttled by the Third Term Agenda. The National Assembly, which was saddled with the responsibility of considering and approving the proposed amendments to the Constitution, threw everything into the dust bin when the tenure elongation plot reared its ugly head.

In 2011, the National Assembly, apparently now more aware of its place in the democratic equation, initiated a fresh process to review the 1999 Constitution.

The sum of N1billion was appropriated for the exercise.

A special Joint Adhoc Committee on Constitution Review was set up in the Natonal Assembly. It was chaired by the Deputy Senate President while the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives was designated as the Co-Chair. Members of the Adhoc Commitee were drawn from both chambers.

However, in the course of the exercise, a dispute arose over which of the chambers should lead and have preeminence in the process. This superiority contest may not be unconnected with the struggle for the control of the fund.

It, however, resulted in a split and both chambers went their separate ways but on the understanding that they would come together at the end of the exercise to harmonise their reports as they normally did in the consideration of bills.

They have kept to that tradition till this day. Hence, in the House of Representatives, the Committee is headed by the Deputy Speaker while the Deputy Senate President heads the Committee in the Senate.

Membership of the two Committees are drawn from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

In spite of those early hiccups, the 6th National Assembly achieved a major milestone in the democratic process in Nigeria.

On January 11, 2011, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan signed into law the First Amendment to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Apparently buoyed by that success story, successive sessions of the National Assembly has continued to work on the 1999 Constitution.

The 7th National Assembly constituted their Adhoc Committees on Constitution Review with a budgetary provision of N1bilion.

This means that the two chambers had N500million each to execute the project. However, while they were working on the Constitution in their separate chambers, certain political developments in the country compelled the Goodluck Jonathan administration to convene the 2014 National Conference.

The Federal Government voted N7 billion for the 2014 National Conference.

The conference hosted 492 delegates drawn from all walks of life. The exercise was designed, to birth a new constitution that will be acceptable to all Nigerians.

Again, critics of the government faulted the exercise and dubbed it as a ” political jamboree, or talk show”. In spite of these complaints, the conference held successfully and produced one of the most comprehensive reports on the political future of the country.

Unfortunately, the Jonathan administration could not implement the recommendations of the report as Jobathan lost his reelection bid in 2015.

Sunday Telegraph gathered that since 2015, the National Assembly has raised the amount dedicated to Constitution Review by a hundred per cent. The sum of N2 billion has been appropriated for the exercise each session. This translates to an estimated N6billion for the 8th, 9th and 10th Assemblies.

The sheer size of the budget and the not too significant outcomes after the First Amendment in 2011, has been a source of concern to many Nigerians.

Many Nigerians are uncomfortable with the near zero returns on the huge investments the nation has been making on Constitution Review since 2015.

Perhaps this explains the current move by The Patriots, a group of eminent, non- partisan Nigerians, to persuade the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to consider the setting up of a Constituent Assembly to produce a new draft Constitution for the country.

The group, led by the former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Emeka Anyaoku, recently visited President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, where they expressed their dissatisfaction with the 1999 Constitution and the amendments by the National Assembly.

In a chat with newsmen shortly after the visit, Anyaoku disclosed that his group has advised Tinubu to send an executive bill for a brand new constitution to the National Assembly.

“One of our proposals to him is the convening of a National Constituent Assembly, to be mandated to produce a new draft constitution. We also suggested that such a National Constituent Assembly should consist of individuals elected by the people on a non-party basis.

“Say, for example, three individuals per state, per each of the 36 states and one from the Federal Capital Territory and they should be mandated to produce a new draft constitution. And we also suggested that in the bill, the National Assembly should be asked to legislate for a national referendum because as our laws stand at the moment, we have no provision for a national referendum.

“We concluded by saying that the Draft Constitution to emerge from the Constituent Assembly should be subjected to the national referendum to give the people of Nigeria a chance to determine the new constitution.”

“We also talked about the current crisis of protests throughout the country. And we advised the President that in our view, the government at the federal and state levels should dialogue with the leaders of the protests,” Anyaoku said.