The first draft of the constitution is published south. Independent national electoral commission legislature. Unfortunately, there has never been a participatory approach to constitution making in nigeria. A constitution charter remains a draft until ratified by the people for whom it was designed vide a referendum or some other positive popular act showing adoption or ratification. The latest controversy dogging the amendment relates to whether or not it is necessary for the president to assent to the bill of the national assembly amending the constitution, even after the amendment has been ratified by at least twothirds of the houses of assembly of. Drafting committee cdc drafted the 1979 constitution, which provided the template for subsequent militaryinitiated constitutions in 1989, 1995 and 1999. To introduce a new constitution for the republic of south africa and to provide for matters incidental thereto. The federal republic of nigeria which gained independence in 1960, after a long period of colonialism by the british government, has a remarkable constitutional development. Nigerias 1995 draft constitution archives ripples nigeria. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Constitution of the federal republic of nigeria certain. Introduction my association with ajayi crowther university dates back to 2007 when i was. Nigeria during the abacha years 19931998 current options for.
The law of nigeria consists of courts, offences, and various types of laws. The clifford constitution of 1922 abolished the nigerian council of 1914 as it was replaced by a new legislative council through which nigerians will be given access to power via electoral principles. Nigeria is not a power to make law for peace, order and good. Constitution of the republic of south africa act, ss. Principles and concepts august 2014 about this series these constitutionbuilding primers are intended to assist incountry constitutionbuilding or constitutionalreform processes by. A constitution to worth the name, must be made by the people in a political or constitutional convention or conference and must thereafter ratify, adopt or even reject the draft where necessary. The current constitution was enacted on 29 may 1999, inaugurating the nigerian fourth republic. Instead, the team was put together to interact and advise civil society and government on some of the real and perceived inadequacies in the 1995 draft constitution and suggest a process based institutional mechanism for managing ethnic, religious, gender and other forms of polarisation among the constituent parts of the nigerian political unit.
But the formal initiation of the dialogue process for constitutional reform can be traced to june 30 july 2, 1999, barely one month after the inauguration of the civilian regime when a leading nongovernmental organisation in west africa, the centre for democracy and development cdd organised a conference on the 1999 constitution and the. Nigerias official title from a commonwealth domain whose head of state was the queen of england, to the present title federal republic of nigeria, civilians have never been in charge of nigerias constitution making exercises. Ghanas constitution of 1992 with amendments through 1996. Subject matter chieftaincy matters supremacy of the constitution. He was pressured to do this by the caseley hayfordled west african congress in 1922, which was the year the first constitution was constituted for nigeria and a host of other west african countries colonized by the british, namely gambia, sierra leone and gold coast. Constitution of the republic of south africa fourth amendment act 14 of 1994. A constitution properly socalled can therefore not be decreed into. Constitution making have been dominated by british colonial officers and the nigerian military rulers. The presidency is the most important job in nigeria and it should be occupied by the most competent nigerian. This constitution shall have the force of law throughout nigeria and, subject to the provisions of section 4 of this constitution, if any other law including the constitution of a region is inconsistent with this constitution, this constitution shall prevail and the other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void. The constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed with a twothirds majority vote in both the senate and the house of representatives. Under this constitution, a nigerian legislative council was constituted, but its jurisdiction was limited to the southern provinces, i.
The 1963 constitution, which was based on the westminster system, continued in operation until a military coup in 1966 overthrew nigeria s democratic institutions. Constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1999. Nigeria has its own constitution which was established on 29 may 1999. The constitution suspension and modification no5 decree of 1966 assorted the federal structure of nigeria and created not it called republic of nigeria and national military government in place of the federal military government, the various autonomous regime were abolished. The 1999 constitution of federal republic of nigeria clearly took a cue from the united states model going by the. Review of the 1999 constitution, nigerian democracy 1.
The may 1999 constitution, like those of 1979 and 1989, and the draft constitution of 1995, provided for a federal republic with an executive president on theusmodel. The first draft of the constitution is published in january 1995 an advertising campaign was launched to elicit public views on what should be in the constitution. Adopted by the national constitution conference on 15 march 2004 20 th october 2004 5. May 15, 2017 while an extraministerial department mentioned in section 171 of the constitution is a miserable appendage of a civil service ministry and is usually susceptible to the whims and caprices. Principles and concepts august 2014 about this series these constitution building primers are intended to assist incountry constitution building or constitutionalreform processes by. The most evil document in circulation in the world today, i am told, is the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria amended or not. A constitution charter remains a draft until ratified by the people for whom it was designed vide a referendum or some other positive popular act. In december 1995 we held a very successful all politicians summit at eko hotel, victoria island, lagos which i had the privilege to chair.
Presentation of the report of nigerian constitution debate. Parliamentary legislation can then make provision for structures and mechanisms such as the finance and fiscal commission, the police board of. Ncdc confirms six fresh cases of covid19 as nigeria s total rises to 238. However, while the land policy facilitated the implementation of some. Supremacy of the constitution effect of section 6 6 b and section 236 of the 1979 constitution on the supremacy and enforcement powers decree no. This decree may be cited as the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria certain consequential repeals decree 1999 and shall come into force on 29th may 1999. The amendment of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999 has not been free of controversies. The senate is working on a legislation to compel the federal government and its agencies to submit their accounts for audit as required by the 1999 constitution. Abstract the land use act of 1978 is deemed a federal enactment and as such sets out the national policies on the utilization of the enjoyment of land. Constitution of the republic of south africa act 200 of. Osinbajos interpretation of section 171 of the constitution.
The constitution of nigeria is the supreme law of the federal republic of nigeria. Republic with executive president elections organisation. Abdulsalam abubakar set up the justice niki tobi led constitution debate coordinating committee. Constitution is the most important document for the governance of any country. Historical development of the nigerian constitution. Nigerian constitution chapter 4 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999. The work of the national constitutional conference culminated in a twovolume report, volume 1 of which was report of the constitutional conference containing the draft constitution 1995. The final part of the paper compares the failure of nigerian constitutional reforms with the case of. Mar 17, 2016 supremacy of the constitution in every given human society, there is always a supreme entity whose provisions or dictates are final. Over fivemillion copies of the draft, available in all 11 official languages, were distributed in november 1995.
Constitution of the fourth republic of ghana promulgation law, 1992 pndcl 282 as amended by constitution of the republic of ghana amendment act, 1996 act 527. Issues in the 1995 nigerian draft constitution book, 1999. Mar 09, 2020 the federal republic of nigeria which gained independence in 1960, after a long period of colonialism by the british government, has a remarkable constitutional development. Having firmly and solemnly resolve, to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under god, dedicated to the promotion of interafrican solidarity, world peace, international cooperation and understanding. Amending the constitution of the federal republic of. The constitution should make provision for the matter to be addressed via parliamentary legislation. In january 1995 an advertising campaign was launched to elicit public views on what should be in the constitution. By this, we hope to be able to raise enrollment numbers and reduce the poor academic performance of students and the drastic failure rates in exams while also working to enhance instructional practice among teachers using familiar channels of interaction to train and empower them on the use. The committee recommended the 1979 constitution with amendments as preferable to 1995 constitution.
Force of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999. The 33 major amendments the senate considered for nigerian constitution july 27, 2017 samuel ogundipe nigerian senate chamber used to illustrate the story. The 1922 constitution the clifford constitution in 1922 a new constitution revoking the 1914 constitution was promulgated under governor clifford. The man that formulated the first constitution for nigeria was sir hugh clifford. The amending of nigeria s constitution has engaged nigerians of all shades of opinion over the years. Full list of 1999 constitution amendment 1999 constitution. The land use act 1978 in the context of the 1999 constitution in nigeria lambert uyi edigin ph d. The constitution of nigeria is the supreme law of the federal republic of nigeria nigeria has had a series of constitutions. In the pre colonial times, it was usually the gods of the land in the south or the provisions of the holy. An appraisal of legislative prerogatives in impeachement. This particular entity is the embodiment of sovereignty in that society.
Schedule decrees ceasing to have effect on the coming into force of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999 year no. The constitution of nigeria is the supreme law of the country. Nigeria, named after the river niger, is situated on the southern coast of west africa. It came into force on 1st of october,1963 nigeria s third anniversary as an independent nation.
Constitution of the republic of south africa sixth amendment act 24 of 1994. Rotational presidency enshrines mediocrity into the nigerian constitution and will make it difficult for nigeria to produce a leader that has the stature of nelson mandela or kofi annan. Constitutional development in nigeria from 1914 till date. The constitutional assembly shall draft and adopt a new. The constitutional development in nigeria from 1914 till date can be divided into two generation. Enugu speakers of 36 state houses of assembly in nigeria said they have received draft copies of the 2017 amendment to the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. A presentation to students of the faculty of law, ajayi crowther university, oyo, 31 january 2017. Six new states were created in october 1996, bringing the total to 36. National assembly the may 1999 constitution, like those of 1979 and 1989, and the draft constitution of 1995, provided for a federal republic with an executive president on theusmodel. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. The president is elected every four years by universal adult suffrage and is. Independent nigeria s second constitution established the country as a federal republic. Considering the provisions of clifford constitution, the legislative council was composed of 46 members of which official members including the governor and 19. Amending the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria.
The finalization of the constitution has resulted in a marked shift in the political terrain from consensusstyle politics to opposition politics. Constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, fourth alteration bill, no. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. The drafting of south africas final constitution from a.
On 19 september the first consolidated draft of the new constitution was ready, but the first refined working draft was only published on 22 november 1995. If the constitution is made in a participatory process, the people will own the constitution and their engagement in the governance process will be very deep. There are four distinct legal systems in nigeria, which include english law, common law, customary law, and sharia law. S220, committee of the minister and the mecs and the senate. Federal republic of nigeria, general abdulsalami alhaji abubakar, fss, dss. I wish to make the point loud and clear to fellow nigerians even at the expense of prolixity that the role of the committee was to coordinate and collate views and recommendations of nigerians on the 1995 draft constitution and submit a report. An appraisal of legislative prerogatives in impeachement proceedings in nigeria under the 1999 constitution abubakar sadeeque abba department of political science and international relations, university of abuja. By this, we hope to be able to raise enrollment numbers and reduce the poor academic performance of students and the drastic failure rates in exams while also working to enhance instructional practice among teachers using familiar channels of interaction to train and empower. Draft constitution of kenya bomas draft, 15 march 2004. Constitution of 29 may 1999, as amended by the first, second.