The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) on Monday urged Ghanaians to resist any attempt by individuals or groups of persons to subvert the 1992 Constitution.

"We wish to remind Ghanaians of their duty not only to defend and protect the Constitution but also to ensure its restoration in the unlikely event of it being suspended, abrogated or overthrown," it said in a statement signed by N. K Agboada, Director in Charge of Public Education, to mark the 45th independence anniversary, which falls on Wednesday, March 6.

The Commission commended Ghanaians for their hard work and perseverance towards the sustenance of the Fourth Republican Constitution and the nation's democracy as a whole and called on all Ghanaians to put their shoulders to the wheel of development to move the nation forward.

The statement said the NCCE was worried over poverty and HIV/AIDS that were threatening to erode gains that Ghanaians had made. It said it was also worried about the growing numbers of young and energetic girls from the three northern regions moving south to work as female porters (kayaye) in the Accra Metropolis.

It said the Commission would do everything within its power to discourage the young girls from coming down to Accra to work as porters. It called on non-governmental organisations to lend support to government's policy of poverty reduction to help reduce the impact of poverty on national development.

The NCCE said non-governmental organisations could help revamp the agricultural sector in the north while capacity-building programmes could be provided to the porters to enable them to redirect their energies into more productive ventures.