Mr. Daniel Agbesi Latsu, the Kadjebi District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has implored Ghanaians to uphold and defend the 1992 Constitution against interference and interruptions.
He said they must reject any act that sought to disturb the peace and stability of the state.
Mr. Latsu said per Article 3 (4a) of the 1992 Constitution, it was a duty “to defend the Constitution, and in particular, to resist any person or group of persons seeking to commit any of the acts referred to in clause 3 of this article.”
He said the Constitution was a living document, so must be nurtured to grow.
Mr. Latsu made these statements during the observation of 2022 Constitution Week Celebration with students of Ahamansu Islamic Senior High School (AHISHS) at Ahamansu in the Kadjebi District of the Oti Region.
He said the NCCE in 2001 instituted the week to commemorate the country’s return to constitutional democratic rule on 7th January, 1993.
Mr. Latsu said a referendum was held on 28th April, 1992 to adopt the draft Fourth Republican Constitution and the Constitution was then promulgated and gazette on May 8, 1992 and May 15, 1992 respectively.
“Presidential and Parliamentary elections were held on November 7, 1992 and December 7, 1992 respectively”, he added.
The District Director said this year marked thirty years of uninterrupted constitutional rule in the 4th Republic and this called for celebration by all Ghanaians.
Mr. Latsu said in the course of operating the 1992 Constitution for the past 30 years, various segment of the Ghanaian society called for thorough review of the document.
He said the Commission sees this as a healthy discussion and thus, called on all Ghanaians to reflect and add their voices on the ongoing debate for constitutional amendment.
Mr. Latsu said the participation of citizens in the democratic process, and particularly, in the dialogues on reforms that could best inform the efforts at tackling the deficits in aspects of the 1992 Constitution was a step in the right direction.
He said these deficits seemingly breed apathy among the citizenry, disengage the public in major aspects of governance at both the grassroots and national levels, deepen marginalisation, promote excessive powers of the Executive and fester corruption.
Mr. Moru Sulemana, the Headmaster of AHISHS, thanked the NCCE educative team for the programme and called on the student to celebrate the 4th Republican Constitution, study it as the fundamental law of the land and use it as a guide to civic rights and responsibilities.
The programme was held on the theme: “Three decades of uninterrupted constitutional rule: Revisiting the agenda for reforms”.
Similar programmes were held at Koru, Dodi-Papase, Kosamba, Asato, among others.