Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State has urged the National Assembly to stop further the process of amending the nation’s constitution.
“The National Assembly should stop the constitutional amendment and wait for the outcome of the national dialogue,” Jang said.
Jang stated this during a valedictory session for the retired Chief Judge of Plateau State, Justice Lazarus Dakyen, on Wednesday in Jos.
He said: “Since the National Assembly is not in favour of a referendum so as to make the constitution truly the property of Nigerians, then they should stop the process.
“The current constitutional amendment by the National Assembly will not meet our yearning because the constitution we are currently operating was a product of a military gazette.”
The governor said that the national dialogue should be given the necessary support by Nigerians so that it would succeed.
He added: “I personally support the idea of the national dialogue, but I wish there are no ‘no go areas’ and the outcome should be subjected to a referendum by citizens of Nigeria.
“The outcome of the referendum should be implemented by the government and avoid dumping it on the shelves in government offices.”
Jang urged the people of Plateau State to articulate their own positions for the national dialogue, adding that the current federalism being practiced in the country had been distorted.
He said: “Looking at the exclusive and concurrent list, is Nigeria not having an over concentration of powers in the centre unlike other federal systems?
He asked: “Why should poison and drugs remain on the exclusive lists, thereby rendering the states and local governments impotent to combat the menace of alcohol and drug abuse?”
Jang commended the outgoing chief judge for providing a harmonious working relationship between executive and the judiciary.
He said: “I will recommend all the state civil servants in the state to emulate the good qualities of the retiring chief judge.
“We as a government will compensate the judiciary by providing a new High Court Complex that will be completed before May 2015.”
Earlier, the retiring chief judge urged the Plateau State Government to obey the court judgment that guaranteed the complete independence of the judiciary.
He said: “I urged the governor to give the Plateau judiciary their complete autonomy in line with an Abuja High Court ruling recently.
“Governor Jang as an advocate of rule of law, I hope you will implement this independence of the judiciary on the Plateau so that other governors will copy from you.”
Dakyen appealed to the Plateau State Government to computerise the courts so as to have speedy dispensation of justice.
“The era of taking court proceedings with long hand is becoming a thing of the past and we hope the courts will be connected to the internet too,” he said.
The Chief Judge commended the government, judges, lawyers and all the staff that had worked with him.
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