Senate Minority Leader and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Abba Moro, has said that Nigeria should focus on amending its current constitution rather than discarding it entirely for a new one.
Speaking on ongoing calls for a total constitutional overhaul, Moro argued that the nation’s founding document should be treated as a “live document” that can be improved over time, rather than replaced wholesale.
He recalled that during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, the 2014 National Conference recommended power devolution as a key reform, yet the proposals were never implemented. Moro noted that many of the same recommendations continue to resurface in subsequent conferences and stakeholder gatherings.
“The constitution of a country is a live document,” he said. “As we move on, certain elements that are missing need to be included, and aspects that offend basic human rights must be removed. With the political will, we can gradually work towards a perfect document rather than calling for a complete overhaul.”
Moro also questioned the legitimacy of current groups advocating for a total rewrite, asking who appointed or nominated them. He insisted that thoughtful amendments offer a more practical and inclusive path to constitutional reform.
“If you want to ask me how many people were in the so-called conference that is calling for a complete overhaul and overturn of the Constitution. Who do they represent? They were there in the 2014 constitutional conference.
“We are here again, this time around, I can say boldly that the President, then, Goodluck Jonathan appointed some persons, some persons were nominated by various constituencies. But here, who can you tell me, has nominated or appointed this group of persons that are coming up now with a complete overhaul of the Constitution, and must we go on like this as a nation?
“I think a point arrives in our lives that we must agree to accept what we have and possibly like they say, thinker with it, to arrive at the perfection that we are looking for,” he stated.
