I started few months ago on a project to bring to you a breakdown and interpretation of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 but shelved it for some other higher priority projects in my hand. Over the past few months controversies involving the CBN Governor and other Government officials have drawn our attention and interest to the Constitution. We have all heard that the National Assembly will soon embark on a review of the Constitution. The civic awareness and how democracy work in our society is still a mystery for many people and truth be told there are still simple aspects of Government, the basic ones, that many of us still do not understand. If there was ever anytime in our history as a nation that we need to understand our rights and how to guard it, that time is now.

The Constitution already empower you with certain civic rights which the Government wants by all means to deny to you. If you fail to understand what they are and how to negotiate them, then you become a victim of your own Government. The Constitution belongs to the People, not to the Government or any political party or segment of society. It is the people that have the power to convene a conference for Constitutional review. This is contained in the Constitution itself.

So, section by section, I will bring you a watered down version using simple to understand terms and language so that you get over the confusion of the legal language in which the document is written.

The time I spend doing this will not be consistent as I have other things to do for myself but I am hoping that when the NASS review starts we should all at least have enough understanding to be able to flow with their progress and raise questions on disturbing issues which otherwise if included would serve to erode the rights of the people.

http://www.nigeria-law.org/ConstitutionOfTheFederalRepublicOfNigeria.htm

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

1999

We the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
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 inter-African solidarity, world peace, international co-operation and understanding

And to provide for a Constitution for the purpose of promoting the good government and welfare of all persons in our country, on the principles of freedom, equality and justice, and for the purpose of consolidating the unity of our people

Do hereby make, enact and give to ourselves the following Constitution:-

Translation:

The 250+ tribes of people that make up the country called Federal Republic of Nigeria have agreed amongst ourselves to co-exist in unity and and harmony as 1 people with common destiny under the dominion of God, to promote and extend well-being and goodwill throughout Africa and the global community.

And to provide for a written code of conduct that promote well-being and goodwill for one another in our country, based on the principles of freedom, equality and justice, and for the purpose of bonding us together in unity

Do hereby make, commit, and grant to ourselves the following Constitution.

Chapter I

General Provisions

Part I

Federal Republic of Nigeria

1. (1) This Constitution is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on the authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

(2) The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any persons or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

(3) If any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution, this Constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.


2. (1) Nigeria is one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign state to be known by the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

(2) Nigeria shall be a Federation consisting of States and a Federal Capital Territory.


3. (1) There shall be 36 states in Nigeria, that is to say, Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

(2) Each state of Nigeria, named in the first column of Part I of the First Schedule to this Constitution, shall consist of the area shown opposite thereto in the second column of that Schedule.

(3) The headquarters of the Governor of each State shall be known as the Capital City of that State as shown in the third column of the said Part I of the First Schedule opposite the State named in the first column thereof.

(4) The Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, shall be as defined in Part II of the First Scheduled to this Constitution.

(5) The provisions of this Constitution in Part I of Chapter VIII hereof shall in relation to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have effect in the manner set out thereunder.

(6) There shall be 768 Local Government Areas in Nigeria as shown in the second column of Part I of the First Schedule to this Constitution and six area councils as shown in Part II of that Schedule.

Translation:

Chapter I

General Provisions

Part I

Federal Republic of Nigeria

1. (1) This Code of Conduct is above everyone from the President down to the lowest strata of society and what is written in it is binding on all the 250+ tribes that committed to it and as well every authority or power of throne that exist within the stewardship of these tribes.

(2) The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any person/s within the 250+ tribes or outside of it take control of the Government of Nigeria or share in a part of it, unless such person/s are doing so to obey the commitments contained and allowed to them in this Code of Conduct.

(3) If any other code of conduct disagrees with what is committed to in this Code of Conduct, this Code of Conduct is the voice of the 250+ tribes and is the last word, and that other code, to the degree of its disagreement, shall not be followed.


2. (1) Nigeria is a congregation of 250+ tribes coming together in mutual agreement to form an eternal common destiny as 1 people known by no other tribal name but as a people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

(2) Nigeria shall be a Federation and instead of tribal lands we shall have states and a Federal Capital Territory.


3. (1) There shall be 36 States in Nigeria and they are: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

(2) Each state of Nigeria, recorded in the first column of Part I of First Schedule of this Code of Conduct, will have its own area also recorded opposite to it in the second column of the same First Schedule.

(3) In the third column of this same First Schedule as in (2) above and against the name of each state recorded there, will be the Headquarters of Government for that State, also called the Capital City of the State.

(4) There is a land in Nigeria which is zoned or set aside as the Headquarters of the Government of The Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is not a State. It is called Federal Capital Territory and its geographical name is Abuja. This land has its own separate identity and this identity is properly communicated in Part II of the First Schedule of this Code of Conduct.

(5) The commitments that are given voice in Part I of Chapter VIII of this Code of Conduct in the matter of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, are to be observed and practiced.

(6) Referring back to the second column of Part I of the First Schedule, each State also have grassroot governments called Local Government Areas. Nigeria has a total of 768 of these LGAs. In Part II of that same First Schedule we have 6 area councils.


NOTE!! The importance of Abuja is emphasized and plenty clarity is given in the Constitution to delineate its status in the Federal Character. It is valuable to know this.

Keep it up,following you on this!

Dudu_Negro: http://www.nigeria-law.org/ConstitutionOfTheFederalRepublicOfNigeria.htm




Translation:

The 250+ tribes of people that make up the country called Federal Republic of Nigeria [b]have agreed amongst ourselves [/b]to co-exist in unity and and harmony as 1 people with common destiny under the dominion of God, to promote and extend well-being and goodwill throughout Africa and the global community.

And to provide for a written code of conduct that promote well-being and goodwill for one another in our country, based on the principles of freedom, equality and justice, and for the purpose of bonding us together in unity

Do hereby make, commit, and grant to ourselves the following Constitution.

That's the portion that nullifies the whole constitution. As FRA Williams put it "A false document that tells lies about itself"

bayooooooo:

That's the portion that nullifies the whole constitution. As FRA Williams put it "A false document that tells lies about itself"

definitely following this

the problem I have with studying Nigerian constitution is, who is actually keeping to it? why do ppl call for amnesty fo militant groups, why cant the constitution be used to gather all the state machinaries against the militant groups? what is the role of OPC, APC MEND, etc in the constitution? we kno they have no role yet they exist and nobody does practically nothing! They should be crushed without appology!
We all kno that the constitution is just a paper document, nobody use it unless it benefits them, so why study it?
Anyway, Im still following!

Please keep it up,it's quite educating

I just witnessed somethng now and I wish to know if its constitutional.
Im currently n my way to Abuja from Ilorin in a public transport. We ar n Ekiti state which is doing environmental sanitation, but the roads passing through some towns in the state are being blocked and manned by the indigenes at some points by the Police! These people are practically refusing people access to the roads and saying that everybody must wait till they finish their sanitation program by ten oclock!
Is this right according to the constitution?

bayooooooo:

That's the portion that nullifies the whole constitution. As FRA Williams put it "A false document that tells lies about itself"

. . . dude, you just pulled the trigger and nullified the need for Nigeria to exist. lol!! Brilliant!!

cogitoErgo: I just witnessed somethng now and I wish to know if its constitutional.
Im currently n my way to Abuja from Ilorin in a public transport. We ar n Ekiti state which is doing environmental sanitation, but the roads passing through some towns in the state are being blocked and manned by the indigenes at some points by the Police! These people are practically refusing people access to the roads and saying that everybody must wait till they finish their sanitation program by ten oclock!
Is this right according to the constitution?

Very good question. We are not yet in the section of the Constitution where this issue is addressed so it is premature to treat the question. I'd like to encourage group learning; that is, instead of me answering this question for you now that you park the question and bring it back up after we have addressed the powers and rights of States.

There is separation of powers and a State can impose certain rules but in your case the State did not stop you. If you were stopped by some individuals, that can be considered civic duty. Environmental sanitation is a civic duty as well.

It is a different story if you were stopped by a police. The police is under the commission of the Federal Government and can only enforce Fed Govt law, not State law since he/she is not State police.

Hypothetically, If there is a State law that authorizes him/her to halt movement of traffic for environmental sanitation then there need to also be a Federal law that authorizes same action, otherwise, the State law is void and the police man is in violation of the Fed law by stopping your movement. (see I.I.1(3)above).

Dudu_Negro:

Very good question. We are not yet in the section of the Constitution where this issue is addressed so it is premature to treat the question. I'd like to encourage group learning; that is, instead of me answering this question for you now that you park the question and bring it back up after we have addressed the powers and rights of States.

There is separation of powers and a State can impose certain rules but in your case the State did not stop you. If you were stopped by some individuals, that can be considered civic duty. Environmental sanitation is a civic duty as well.

It is a different story if you were stopped by a police. The police is under the commission of the Federal Government and can only enforce Fed Govt law, not State law since he/she is not State police.

Hypothetically, If there is a State law that authorizes him/her to halt movement of traffic for environmental sanitation then there need to also be a Federal law that authorizes same action, otherwise, the State law is void and the police man is in violation of the Fed law by stopping your movement. (see I.I.1(3)above).

OK, I will be waiting till the issue is addressed! I was just thinkng that there should be difference between people living n the state who ar to participate n d sanitation nd people who ar just passng through d state who have nothng to do wit d sanitation. May be constitutional review s needd n this (lol).
Actualy, during d journy, w used t discusse wit some Police nd FRSC officials nd they normally used t pass us but some locals wil simply be obstinate n their resolve nt t allow us pass no mater hw u make thm see reason!

Part II

Powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria


4. (1) The legislative powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be vested in a National Assembly for the Federation, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.

(2) The National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.

(3) The power of the National Assembly to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List shall, save as otherwise provided in this Constitution, be to the exclusion of the Houses of Assembly of States.

(4) In addition and without prejudice to the powers conferred by subsection (2) of this section, the National Assembly shall have power to make laws with respect to the following matters, that is to say:-

(a) any matter in the Concurrent Legislative List set out in the first column of Part II of the Second Schedule to this Constitution to the extent prescribed in the second column opposite thereto; and

(b) any other matter with respect to which it is empowered to make laws in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

(5) If any Law enacted by the House of Assembly of a State is inconsistent with any law validly made by the National Assembly, the law made by the National Assembly shall prevail, and that other Law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.

(6) The legislative powers of a State of the Federation shall be vested in the House of Assembly of the State.

(7) The House of Assembly of a State shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the State or any part thereof with respect to the following matters, that is to say:-

(a) any matter not included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.

(b) any matter included in the Concurrent Legislative List set out in the first column of Part II of the Second Schedule to this Constitution to the extent prescribed in the second column opposite thereto; and

(c) any other matter with respect to which it is empowered to make laws in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

( Save as otherwise provided by this Constitution, the exercise of legislative powers by the National Assembly or by a House of Assembly shall be subject to the jurisdiction of courts of law and of judicial tribunals established by law, and accordingly, the National Assembly or a House of Assembly shall not enact any law, that ousts or purports to oust the jurisdiction of a court of law or of a judicial tribunal established by law.

(9) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the National Assembly or a House of Assembly shall not, in relation to any criminal offence whatsoever, have power to make any law which shall have retrospective effect.

Translation:

Part II

Powers of The Federal Republic of Nigeria

4. (1) The duty to manage the affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be divided into three separate powers. One of these powers is called Legislative power, that is, the power to create standard code of moral behavior (law) for Nigeria. The place designated for creating Nigerian law is called National Assembly. The National Assembly is where the 250+ tribes meet to express their voice, in agreement or disagreement, in formulating the moral character and conduct of the country. The National Assembly is divided into two areas called Senate and House of Representatives.

(2) Speaking through the National Assembly as an authority of power, the people convey their interest and desire, expressed as codes of moral behavior, for the peace, order and good governance of the Federation or any part of this country with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List shown in Part I of the Second Schedule of this Constitution.

(3) To make the management of the country easy for the people and bring power closer to the individual member of society, a similar structure of Federal power is also created at State level and sometimes, though rare, at Local Government level. Since there is overlap in powers, it is important to clearly define who has what power and responsibility and what that power is. National Assembly makes law for Federal, State Assembly makes law at State level and LGA Council has similar responsibility at the local grassroot level.

With respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List, only the National Assembly is given authority and power to create laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation. State Houses of Assembly are excluded from exercising this power unless some other part of this Constitution say otherwise.

(4) In addition and without detriment to the powers already conferred by subsection (2) of this section, the National Assembly shall have powers to also make laws with respect to the following matters, that is to say:-

(a) any matter in the Concurrent Legislative List set out in the first column of Part II of the Second Schedule to this Constitution to the extent prescribed in the second column opposite thereto; and

(b) the National Assembly also has power to create a code of moral behavior in any other matter with respect to which it is empowered to make laws in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

(5) If the House of Assembly of a State creates a code of moral behavior that is different from that validly made by the National Assembly, that law made by the National Assembly shall stand and the law made by such State, to the point where it differs, is non-binding.

(6) The power of a State to create code of moral behavior shall be delegated in the State's House of Assembly.

(7) The House of Assembly of a State shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the State or parts thereof with respect to the following matters, that is to say;-

(a) any matter not included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.

(b) any matter included in the Concurrent Legislative List set out in the first column of Part II of the Second Schedule of this Constitution to the extent prescribed in the second column opposite thereto; and

(c) any other matter with respect to which it is empowered to create laws in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.


(8 ) The Constitution has designated the National Assembly as the place of Legislative power, that is, the place where the 250+ tribes shall meet to deliberate and formulate codes of moral behavior for the people. However, the outcome of their formulation and agreements has no authority on the people it is written to guide until it is reviewed and given the nod by courts of law and judicial tribunals established by law. In other words, the law created by the National Assembly has plenty of teeth but until it is accepted by the courts of law with jurisdiction or Constitutionally established tribunal, it cannot bite. The National Assembly, therefore, shall not create any law that interfere in the judicial integrity or compromise the existence of a court or a judicial tribunal established by law. Same applies to State House of Assembly.

NOTE!!! This law of opposites is called check and balance. Without it, the National Assembly will soon deviate from its noble purpose and misuse the powers delegated to it wrongly and adversely against the best interest of the people.

(9) Even with all the wide latitude and broad coverage allowed under this section of the Constitution, the National Assembly is yet forbidden, in relation to any criminal offense, however grave it is, to reset the hand of time by creating a law that falls back in order to capture events in the past that was not before legislated against. Same applies to State House of Assembly.

Many thanks

Doing a good job.keep it up.

bayooooooo:

That's the portion that nullifies the whole constitution. As FRA Williams put it "A false document that tells lies about itself"

That portion nullifies nothing. Have you ever encountered an agreement or resolution which did not have parties who opposed its contents as originally crafted? Stop misquoting Rotimi Williams. I suspected that you are a closet separatist and secessionist who shares the same goal as _Negro. You people will be smoked out, one unpatriotic separatist at time.

In late 1800s British settlers drew contracts of land concessions by the natives and had them put an X against their names on the contract to give it legal authority. Though we know now that these contracts were bogus and false, our fore fathers on the coast had no suspicion of wrong doing and dispossession and went into the arrangement with trust and good spirit.

This wrongful dispossession of native land and culture led to the creation of the Southern Protectorate, then Southern and Northern Nigeria, then amalgamation into one Nigeria, and then Independence and even after Independence we have had military and civilian regimes and up untill this 1999 Constitution.

Throughout these different timelines of our history as a country, only one thing is consistent; the artful scheme of dispossession, strong arming and secretly enacting law codes and statutes that lacked consensus and which the people would reject wholesale if they had an inkling they have been pen robbed.

The 1999 Constitution was a succession to the 1993 Constitution and both were drafted under Military command - a non democratic government. So when they say "We the people of Nigeria", I would really like to know who these "We" were that the 250+ tribes sent to represent their voice in the draft and their signatures indicating consent to "unite all 250+ tribes into one single unity of people, called Nigeria".

Unless such evidence is available to prove consent given by the 250+ tribes, a Constitution drafted by non Constitutional powers to strong arm and force together non-consenting people to co-exist is nothing but FALSE and NON-BINDING.

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

1999

We the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
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 inter-African solidarity, world peace, international co-operation and understanding

Negro_,

So this your constitution was designed to promote African Solidarity, World peace and International cooperation?

Is it the UN constitution? Was it written for a Sports Club or a Nation?



It is insulting and stupid to mention those meaningless, vague and unnessessarily broad goals before mentioning its convenant with the specific people for whom it was puportedly written.

Obviously, this document was written by shallow minded, visionless men and women, their lack of depth and their inability to properly define what their country should stand for is evidenced both in those first few words and all over the nonsense document.

Anyway, what else do we expect from a document written by unlettered men with no sense of culture or pride, men with no philosophical depth, no trace of ideological leaning and no ambition Or sense of vision beyond selfishness, avarice and a vainglorious pursuit of power.

One day, we the real people will do the needful with every paper on which these meaningless words are written, we will s/h/i/t on it and forever condemn the legacy of these usurpers into the latrine of history.

Negro, I must say I appreciate your noble effort, but it's hard to avoid bowel movement at the sight of such crapper, regardless of the number of times one has seen it.

Dudu_Negro: In late 1800s British settlers drew contracts of land concessions by the natives and had them put an X against their names on the contract to give it legal authority. Though we know now that these contracts were bogus and false, our fore fathers on the coast had no suspicion of wrong doing and dispossession and went into the arrangement with trust and good spirit.

This wrongful dispossession of native land and culture led to the creation of the Southern Protectorate, then Southern and Northern Nigeria, then amalgamation into one Nigeria, and then Independence and even after Independence we have had military and civilian regimes and up untill this 1999 Constitution.

Throughout these different timelines of our history as a country, only one thing is consistent; the artful scheme of dispossession, strong arming and secretly enacting law codes and statutes that lacked consensus and which the people would reject wholesale if they had an inkling they have been pen robbed.

The 1999 Constitution was a succession to the 1993 Constitution and both were drafted under Military command - a non democratic government. So when they say "We the people of Nigeria", I would really like to know who these "We" were that the 250+ tribes sent to represent their voice in the draft and their signatures indicating consent to "unite all 250+ tribes into one single unity of people, called Nigeria".

Unless such evidence is available to prove consent given by the 250+ tribes, a Constitution drafted by non Constitutional powers to strong arm and force together non-consenting people to co-exist is nothing but FALSE and NON-BINDING.

i think the 1995 constitutional conference headed by Alex Ekweme was upgraded to 1999

D

Musiwa,

I agree completely with your take. All the Constitutions drafted under military regimes are unConstitutional. Incrementally with each revision, the military rulers dethroned regional autonomy and secretly inserted laws that lacked democratic representation. This 1999 Constitution should have been reviewed and updated soon as we went back to civilian rule. Anyway, its not late, it should be done now and corrected to reflect the intent and consent of the 250+ tribes to form a single unity to be called Federal Republic of Nigeria. If that consent cannot be obtained, then let's dissolve the Federal Republic of Nigeria so these tribes can negotiate alternative arrangements for their sovereignty.

In as much as I religiously pray and advocate for the splitting of Nigeria, I can‘t help but follow this thread. Afterall, I‘m still trapped in the failing experiment and, it‘s my civic duty to learn as much as I can about it.
@Negro/Dudu and other posters with educating inputs, GOD bless you all.
@all posters, let‘s keep this thread civil and rid of ethnic jagon a.k.a tribalism because, it sucks

Negro_Ntns this is a brilliant thread and I can't thank you enough for posting this. You've just inspired/encouraged me. I planned to post the 1960 and 1963 constitutions on nairaland, but I was worried about getting banned.

These constitutions were drafted by Nigerians under civil rule/democracy. It would be interesting to note the differences between these constitutions.

naptu2: Negro_Ntns this is a brilliant thread and I can't thank you enough for posting this. You've just inspired/encouraged me. I planned to post the 1960 and 1963 constitutions on nairaland, but I was worried about getting banned.

These constitutions were drafted by Nigerians under civil rule/democracy. It would be interesting to note the differences between these constitutions.

Done! Here's the thread https://www.nairaland.com/979547/constitution-federation-nigeria-1960-other#11300711

Abacha spent a year between 1994 and 1995 gathering Nigeria's best brains and put together a constitiution which he planned to pass through Nass after the return to democracry in Oct 1998.
After Abacha was poisoned , Obasanjo and IBB ditched Abacha's 1995 constitution presumably because it would not allow enough corruption and give guarantees that looting heads of states would be immune from prosecution on leaving office.

The 1999 constitution was a re-hatch of Obasanjo's 1979 constitution.

Interesting thread though!

GenBuhari: Abacha spent a year between 1994 and 1995 gathering Nigeria's best brains and put together a constitiution which he planned to pass through Nass after the return to democracry in Oct 1998.
After Abacha was poisoned , Obasanjo and IBB ditched Abacha's 1995 constitution presumably because it would not allow enough corruption and give guarantees that looting heads of states would be immune from prosecution on leaving office.

The 1999 constitution was a re-hatch of Obasanjo's 1979 constitution.

Interesting thread though!

Gen,

All of them pat themselves on the back for assembling the best brains to draft Constitution, Obasanjo said the same thing of the version you dismiss as enabling. Where's the Constitution drafted by Abacha-the-savior? Remember, if it's not on paper, it didn't happen!


Naptu, it will be nice to see how the powers delegated by the 63 version were slowly eroded as we revised upward to 1999. Thanks.

Continuation of . . .

Part II

Powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria


5. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive powers of the Federation:

(a) shall be vested in the President and may subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the Vice-President and Ministers of the Government of the Federation or officers in the public service of the Federation; and

(b) shall extend to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, all laws made by the National Assembly and to all matters with respect to which the National Assembly has, for the time being, power to make laws.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive powers of a State:

(a) shall be vested in the Governor of that State and may, subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any Law made by a House of Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the Deputy Governor and Commissioners of the Government of that State or officers in the public service of the State; and

(b) shall extend to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, all laws made by the House of Assembly of the State and to all matters with respect to which the House of Assembly has for the time being power to make laws.

(3) The executive powers vested in a State under subsection (2) of this section shall be so exercised as not to:-

(a) impede or prejudice the exercise of the executive powers of the Federation;

(b) endanger any asset or investment of the Government of the Federation in that State; or

(c) endanger the continuance of a Federal Government in Nigeria.

(4) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section:-

(a) the President shall not declare a state of war between the Federation and another country except with the sanction of a resolution of both Houses of the National Assembly, sitting in a joint session; and

(b) except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the armed forces of the Federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.

(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, the President, in consultation with the National Defence Council, may deploy members of the armed forces of the Federation on a limited combat duty outside Nigeria if he is satisfied that the national security is under imminent threat or danger:

Provided that the President shall, within seven days of actual combat engagement, seek the consent of the Senate and the Senate shall thereafter give or refuse the said consent within 14 days.

In continuation of Translation. . .

Part II

Powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria


5. (1) The Constitution, acting as an instrument of authority on behalf of the 250+ tribes (voice of the people), delegated powers in three areas of Government. We have seen the Legislative one designated in the National Assembly. Here is the second one called Executive Powers of the Federation. This power:-

(a) is designated in the Presidency. The President will be conferred with powers that are provisioned or created Constitutionally by the National Assembly. President has right to exercise these executive powers directly or if he chooses by delegating it through the Vice President or through Ministers of the Government of the Federation or officers in the public service of the Federation; and

(b) the President derives his/her power from the Constitution, he/she is the executor and maintainer of the Constitution on the affairs and overall management of the Federal Government. He/she is also the executor and maintainer of all laws made by the National Assembly as well all matters in respect of that, whether or not the National Assembly is in Legislative session.


(2) A similar Executive Power exist at the State level of Governance:-

(a) the Executive power of a State is vested in the Governor of that State. The Governor's Executive power is created and conferred Constitutionally by the State's House of Assembly. This power is exercised directly by him/her or through the Deputy Governor or Commissioners of that State or officers in the public service of the State; and

(b) the State Governor derives his authority from the Constitution, he/she is the executor and maintainer of the Constitution on the affairs and overall management of the State Government. He/she is also the executor and maintainer of all laws made bythe State House of Assembly and as well all matters in respect of that, whether or not the House of Assembly is in Legislative session.


(3) The Executive Powers vested in a State in subsection (2) of this section, above, shall be so executed as not to:-

(a) impede or detriment execution of the Executive powers at the Federal level;

(b) endanger any asset or investment of the Government of the Federation in that State; or

(c) endanger the continuance of a Federal Government in Nigeria.


(4) Nothwithstanding the foregoing provisions of Executive power conferred in this section:-

(a) the President, before declaring a war between Nigeria and another country, shall first obtain sanction of a resolution of both Houses of National Assembly sitting in a joint session and consenting to war; and

(b) except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the armed forces of the Federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.


(5) Even though the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, above, imposes a limitation on unitary action by the President, there is nonetheless a wiggle room for him/her to act alone and deploy military force. This wiggle room sidesteps the National Assembly. Here is what it says:-

In consultation with the National Defence Council (instead of the National Assembly), the President may deploy members of the armed forces of the Federation on a limited combat duty outside Nigeria if he is satisfied that the national security is under imminent threat or danger.

This is a conditional waiver (not a total waiver)! It is contingent upon the President taking the following action and complying with its outcome:

The President shall, within seven days of actual combat engagement, seek the consent of the Senate and the Senate shall thereafter give or refuse the said consent within 14 days.

Dudu Negro, your response was disappointing; up to this point you seemed to have been taking an unbiased view on the matter.

Are you saying that you do not believe that there was a National Constitutional Conference that lasted 12months from 1994-1995?

I thought you were too impartial to let the unjust and malicious propanganda campaign against the Late Abacha influence your ability to learn or further research information that is given to you.

Did Obasanjo tell you the members of his constitutional conference?
Did any members of Obasanjo's constitutional conference ever comment about their involvement?
Were we informed of the duration Obj's 1979 constitional conference?


Well, all the above answers are readily available for the 1994-1995 constitional conference in historical archives.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/politics/39620-belgore-committee-reviewing-past-for-future

Dudu_Negro:

Gen,

All of them pat themselves on the back for assembling the best brains to draft Constitution, Obasanjo said the same thing of the version you dismiss as enabling. Where's the Constitution drafted by Abacha-the-savior? Remember, if it's not on paper, it didn't happen!


Naptu, it will be nice to see how the powers delegated by the 63 version were slowly eroded as we revised upward to 1999. Thanks.

Great[img]http://www.50centloseweight.com[/img]

GenBuhari: Dudu Negro, your response was disappointing; up to this point you seemed to have been taking an unbiased view on the matter.

Are you saying that you do not believe that there was a National Constitutional Conference that lasted 12months from 1994-1995?

I thought you were too impartial to let the unjust and malicious propanganda campaign against the Late Abacha influence your ability to learn or further research information that is given to you.

Did Obasanjo tell you the members of his constitutional conference?
Did any members of Obasanjo's constitutional conference ever comment about their involvement?
Were we informed of the duration Obj's 1979 constitional conference?


Well, all the above answers are readily available for the 1994-1995 constitional conference in historical archives.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/politics/39620-belgore-committee-reviewing-past-for-future

Gen,

I am interested, as are the participating respondents, to get a better understanding and intimacy with the Nigerian Constitution. You should not qualify Abacha's draft as a better version because as far as I am concerned, we are not evaluating attempts. . . . we are lookinhg at what is released as official document.

Attempts made by Abacha, whether it actually happened or not, is jut that, an "attempt', and not a Constitution!

@Dudu_Negro,

My intial post was to correc the view that was being thrown about that the 1999 cinsttitution was an upgrade of the 1995 one.

We should compare and contrast the 1995 contitution and the 1999 one.

Many people keep calling for a Soverign Constitutional Conference, well it has already happened in 1995. We can save a lot of time and money by adopting the 1995 constitution and tinkering / udgrading if necessary.

Continuation. . .

Part II

Powers of The Federal Republic of Nigeria


(1) The judicial powers of the Federation shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established for the Federation.

(2) The judicial powers of a State shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established, subject as provided by this Constitution, for a State.

(3) The courts to which this section relates, established by this Constitution for the Federation and for the States, specified in subsection (5) (a) to (1) of this section, shall be the only superior courts of record in Nigeria; and save as otherwise prescribed by the National Assembly or by the House of Assembly of a State, each court shall have all the powers of a superior court of record.

(4) Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section shall be construed as precluding:-

(a) the National Assembly or any House of Assembly from establishing courts, other than those to which this section relates, with subordinate jurisdiction to that of a High Court;

(b) the National Assembly or any House of Assembly, which does not require it, from abolishing any court which it has power to establish or which it has brought into being.

(5) This section relates to:-

(a) the Supreme Court of Nigeria;

(b) the Court of Appeal;

(c) the Federal High Court;

(d) the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;

(e) a High Court of a State

(f) the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;

(g) a Sharia Court of Appeal of a State;

(h) the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;

(i) a Customary Court of Appeal of a State;

(j) such other courts as may be authorised by law to exercise jurisdiction on matters with respect to which the National Assembly may make laws; and

(k) such other court as may be authorised by law to exercise jurisdiction at first instance or on appeal on matters with respect to which a House of Assembly may make laws.

(6) The judicial powers vested in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section -

(a) shall extend, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this constitution, to all inherent powers and sanctions of a court of law

(b) shall extend, to all matters between persons, or between government or authority and to any persons in Nigeria, and to all actions and proceedings relating thereto, for the determination of any question as to the civil rights and obligations of that person;

(c) shall not except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, extend to any issue or question as to whether any act of omission by any authority or person or as to whether any law or any judicial decision is in conformity with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy set out in Chapter II of this Constitution;

(d) shall not, as from the date when this section comes into force, extend to any action or proceedings relating to any existing law made on or after 15th January, 1966 for determining any issue or question as to the competence of any authority or person to make any such law.

In continuation of Translation. . .

Part II

Powers of The Federal Republic of Nigeria

6 (1) Here we discuss the Third power delegated by the Constitution, acting on behalf of the 250+ tribes. This is the Judicial power of the Federation. There are Federal Courts and there are State Courts, both are established Constitutionally for the purposes described in this section.

The Judicial powers of the Federation are vested in the courts of the Federation.

(2) The Judicial powers of a State are vested only in the courts for a State.

(3) The courts (Federal and State) to which this section relates, established by this Constitution for the Federation and for the States, specified in subsection (5) (a) to (k) of this section, shall be the only superior courts of record in Nigeria; and save as otherwise prescribed by the National Assembly or by the House of Assembly of a State, each court shall have all the powers of a superior court of record.

NOTE!!! In the Constitution the above (3) makes reference to subsection (5) (a) to (l) of this section. It is an error in the published copy. In the original draft, the subsection included (l) which in a follow-up read was deleted from the Constitution but the update omitted to also delete this narrative and therefore resulting in the error. I corrected that in this translation and stopped at (k).

(4) Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section shall be construed as precluding.

In other words, the Constitution is explicit in what the superior courts are but that does not prohibit:-

(a) the National Assembly or any House of Assembly from establishing courts, other than those to which this section relates, with subordinate jurisdiction to that of a High Court;

(b) the National Assembly or any House of Assembly, which does not require it, from abolishing any court which it has power to establish or which it has brought into being.


EXPLANATION!!! The Constitution, by virtue of the voice of the 250+ tribes, has mandated the creation of superior courts for Federal and State courts. National Assembly and the State House of Assembly must keep them.

This does not prohibit the National Assembly from creating new courts as it desires but such courts must have subordinate powers to the High courts; neither does it prohibit the National Assembly from abolishing any such courts which it has power to establish or which it established into jurisdiction. The same applies to State House of Assembly.

It is crucial to have thorough understanding of this section and what it says. Example: Any State can use the power given to its House of Assembly by this section to create special courts of jurisdiction such as - Orisha courts for Ifa jurisdiction.


(5) This section relates to:-

(a) the Supreme Court of Nigeria;

(b) the Court of Appeal;

(c) the Federal High Court;

(d) the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;

(e) a High Court of a State

(f) the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;

(g) a Sharia Court of Appeal of a State;

(h) the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;

(i) a Customary Court of Appeal of a State;

(j) such other courts as may be authorised by law to exercise jurisdiction on matters with respect to which the National Assembly may make laws; and

(k) such other court as may be authorised by law to exercise jurisdiction at first instance or on appeal on matters with respect to which a House of Assembly may make laws.


(6) The judicial powers vested in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section -

(a) shall extend, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this constitution, to all inherent powers and sanctions of a court of law

NOTE!!! The Judicial powers given in this section is exact and extends to all inherent powers and sanctions of a court of law that nothing else said anywhere else in this Constitution shall negate it.

Usually the Constitution will say so and so is vested with so and so power, except as otherwise cancelled or provided elsewhere by the Constitution. In contrast, this section is saying that this power to the courts is exact and nothing will change it. It is important to get familiarity with these powers.

This rigidity is necessary as a check and balance against interference and solicitations from the two other Constitutional power sharers - Executive and Legislative branches

(b) shall extend, to all matters between persons, or between government or authority and to any persons in Nigeria, and to all actions and proceedings relating thereto, for the determination of any question as to the civil rights and obligations of that person;

(c) shall not except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, extend to any issue or question as to whether any act of omission by any authority or person or as to whether any law or any judicial decision is in conformity with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy set out in Chapter II of this Constitution.

That policy in Chapter II is in respect to the obligations and responsibilities of the Federal Government to the citizens. It says here that unless provided elsewhere in the Constitution, the provisions of this section on Judicial powers does not extend to cover act of omission by the authority or whether the judicial decision handed down by a court is in conformity with the duties and obligations prescribed in Chapter II.


(d) shall not, as from the date when this section comes into force, extend to any action or proceedings relating to any existing law made on or after 15th January, 1966 for determining any issue or question as to the competence of any authority or person to make any such law.

From the date when this section on Judicial power comes into force, its provisions shall not extend to or cover any action or judicial proceedings relating to a law made on or after January 15th, 1966 (Overthrow of the First Republic)for determining any issue or question as to competence of any authority or person to make any such law.

NOTE!!! This is designed to silence the challenge on non-Constitutionality of military regimes.