One of the lawmakers, Mr. Igariwey Iduma-Enwo, who is from Ebonyi State, told Sunday PUNCH that a referendum would further open up the democratic space.
Iduma-Enwo, a lawyer, said, โA referendum is an element of human rights. It is an avenue to feel the pulse of the people about a particular issue or issues.
โWe should have it in our constitution because a referendum also falls within the context of the restructuring of Nigeria, which a lot of people are today talking about.
โOther countries and advanced democracies, including the US, have it in their constitutions. So, why canโt we have it in Nigeria?โ
The Chairman, House Committee on Works, Mr. Toby Okechukwu, also supported the idea of a referendum if the โmeritsโ of such a provision would be favourable to Nigeria.
โWe have to discuss it on the basis of the merits. If we find it justifiable to use a referendum to discuss a progressive agenda for Nigeria, why not?โ he added.
Okechukwu, who is from Enugu State, recalled that the countryโs constitution in the 1960s, after independence, made provision for referendum and wondered why it was removed from the later versions.
โWhy was it in the independence constitution in the 1960s? If our founding fathers, in their own wisdom, included it in the constitution, why was it removed?
โWe should look at the issue of referendum and juxtapose it with the United Nations Charter on the Rights to Self-Determination,โ he stated.
Reacting to the decision of the House on the South-East Development Commission Bill, Okechukwu told SUNDAY PUNCH that the zone was denied a rare opportunity to advance its development.
โThis was an avenue to encourage development of infrastructure and investments, but it was thrown out just because of other factors,โ he said.
In a similar vein, Jerry Alagboso said there was nothing wrong in having a referendum in the constitution.
He explained that all Nigerians would be better off with it, besides the Igbo, who were denied a development commission โfor no justifiable reasons.โ
Alagboso described the rejection of the development commission bill as โunfortunate,โ noting that lawmakers from the North had a wrong impression that it was an agenda to promote Biafra.
However, when contacted, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas, said, โThe National Assembly is for all Nigerians. It is a representative assembly and every Nigerian is represented here.
โWhatever the grievances are, channel them through your representatives and they will be adequately addressed.โ
