Aondoakaa: State Creation Not Economically Justifiable, Yar’Adua Signed Power Transfer Letter

Wale Igbintade

Former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Michael Aondoakaa (SAN), has criticised the ongoing constitutional amendment process led by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, particularly the push for the creation of additional states. 

He described the effort as politically motivated and economically indefensible.

Aondoakaa has also disclosed that the late President Umaru Yar’Adua signed a power transfer letter, which was never delivered to the National Assembly.

Speaking yesterday on ARISE NEWS Channel’s Morning Show programme, Aondoakaa warned that most Nigerian states are already financially distressed, adding that the creation of more states would only worsen the burden on the country’s limited resources.

“The agitation for new states is driven by political selfishness, not by any genuine sense of injustice. Everyone wants a state they can control or become governor of”, he said.

He noted that Canada, which is eleven times larger than Nigeria, has just seven provinces. 

“We should be consolidating states, not multiplying ones we can’t sustain,” he added.

Aondoakaa also expressed concern that constitutional amendments have become routine in every session of the National Assembly, with no clear sense of national urgency or justification.

“Since 1999, every legislature has treated constitutional amendment as a default agenda. That’s not how it should work,” he said.

He cited the 2010 constitutional amendment that clarified the transfer of presidential powers during prolonged absences, prompted by the crisis surrounding the late President Yar’Adua’s illness, as a rare example of a necessary and meaningful constitutional reform.

“Amendments should only be made when provisions have been tested and proven inadequate. Not just because a new Assembly has been inaugurated,” he said.

“We’re amending the Constitution to a point where it becomes counterproductive. Every National Assembly cycle brings new amendments. But a constitutional amendment should not be a ritual. It should be a serious national undertaking with a clear, justified impact. Constitutional provisions need to be tested and interpreted, especially by the Supreme Court. And if such interpretations result in injustice, that’s when amendments become necessary.”

 Reacting to the claim by former President Goodluck Jonathan that a certain presidential aide blocked his elevation to Acting President, Aondoakaa explained: “I personally prepared the power transmission document, and President Yar’Adua signed it. It was handed to his principal private secretary, David Edevbie, who then passed it to Abba Aji, the then Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters. After that, I don’t know what happened.”

“I heard, though this may be a rumour, that Abba Aji claimed that during President Obasanjo’s tenure, no such transmission was done. My response was that Obasanjo was never ill. In any case, the signed letter never made it to the National Assembly. That is the truth, and I’m saying it now: Yar’Adua did transmit power.”

He added that President Yar’Adua had no intention of clinging to power during his illness and routinely instructed that all official correspondence be routed through Vice President Jonathan during his absence.

On gender inclusion, Aondoakaa advocated for a 30 per cent constitutional quota for women in government, praising their competence and integrity in leadership roles.

Speaking on electoral reform, the former AGF called for constitutional backing of critical INEC guidelines, particularly on the use of BVAS and electronic transmission of results. 

He argued that INEC’s procedures should carry the force of law.

“Ordinarily, I believed INEC guidelines were constitutional because they derive from the executive powers vested in the commission. But given recent interpretations, we now need to explicitly enshrine INEC guidelines in the Constitution,” he said.

“We can’t have a situation where INEC issues guidelines and then disowns them in court. If they say they will transmit results electronically, they must be held to that commitment. These procedures should not only be reflected in the Electoral Act, but also entrenched in the Constitution. That way, there’s no ambiguity.

“INEC’s core procedures must be constitutionally protected. Nigerians deserve legal clarity going into the 2027 elections.”