Cherry-Picking of Constitutional Provisions and Its Debacle of the Nigerian Economy

Abstract

Activities in the political arena directly and indirectly affect economic policies and outcomes. The foundation of political, economic and social structures is often anchored on a constitutional order. In a democratic society like Nigeria with a written constitution, the supremacy of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended is sacrosanct! The bane of the Nigerian society is that often times in governance, there is no alignment between the provisions of the Constitution and the politics of power in Nigeria. Thus uncritical critics of the Constitution are denigrating it and presenting it as seemingly ineffective to tackle legal-economic-socio challenges that the country faces. This article examines the recent events that involved the third arm of the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly as it relates to the attempt to arraign the Chief Justice of Nigeria (‘CJN’) Walter Samuel Onnoghen before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (‘CCT’), his subsequent suspension by President Muhammadu Buhari and the President’s appointment of an Acting-Chief Justice of Nigeria (“Acting-CJN’) Tanko Muhammed. Emphasis is placed on the evaluation of the constitutionality of these events and the potential effect they may have on the Nigerian Economy considering that we are in the eve of general elections.