Nigeria: We the People Still Await Our Constitution

28 April 2015
opinion

Nigeria has had several Constitutions since our amalgamation in 1914 and these can be broadly divided into two categories; those of the colonial period, which was marked by a total of five constitutions of Sir Hugh Clifford 1922, Sir Arthur Richards 1946, Sir John Macpherson 1951, Sir Oliver Lyttelton 1954 and the Independence Constitution of 1960 and the post-independence constitutions, namely the Republican Constitution of 1963 and subsequently those of 1979 and 1999. While each successive pre-independence constitution was enacted through an order-in-council of the British monarch, post-independence constitutions were enacted in two ways: by an Act of Parliament (1963 Constitution) and by military decree (1979 and 1999).

So far there have been three sets of amendments to the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. The first Alteration Bill was passed by the National Assembly on 3rd of June 2010 and among other things it sought to provide for the financial independence of the National Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission. The 2nd such bill was passed by the National Assembly on the 4th of November 2010 and further altered the Constitution to provide for new time-lines for the conduct of national elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission. The 3rd Alteration Bill sought to establish the National Industrial Court and was passed by the National Assembly on 15th December 2010.

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