February 17, (THEWILL) – State Police, Diaspora Voting, Artificial Intelligence, Governance Structure, Financial Autonomy For LGAs, Judicial And Electoral Reform, Others For Consideration
On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, will swear-in a 37-member committee to review the 1999 Constitution.
Chaired by the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, the committee will be saddled with the responsibility of reviewing the country’s governing law alongside the House Committee, in answer to social and political pressures that have united Nigerians in calling for the restructuring of the federation, however defined by various groups.
According to Senator Akpabio, the areas suggested for review by the committee include state police, artificial intelligence, governance structure, financial autonomy for local government councils, judicial and electoral reform, Diaspora voting, cost of governance and moving some of the responsibilities of government from the exclusive to the concurrent.
“The earlier these parts of the Constitution are amended by the 10th National Assembly, the better for the promotion of good governance in the country, “ a Constitutional lawyer, Barrister Mack Ogbamosa, told THEWILL in a presentation dealing with amendments he thinks will reset governance in Nigeria for the benefit of the people.
FORM OF GOVERNMENT
Like an unexpected storm, though welcome because of a reverberating call for political restructuring of the country’s quasi-federal structure mediated by the post-civil war unitary system, 60 members of the House of Representatives last Wednesday called for a change of government structure from presidential to parliamentary.
This call by an inter-party coalition of members of the House followed a Bill proposing Constitutional alterations for a transition to parliamentary system of government sponsored by the House Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, and 59 others and read for the first time on the floor of the House during Wednesday’s plenary session.
The members vowed to embark on a sensitisation of Nigerians to the monetary and developmental threat posed by the presidential system of governance. For them, the time of constitutional amendment was auspicious.
According to the representatives, if adopted at the federal, state and local government levels of administration, the parliamentary system of government will drastically cut down cost of governance and be more inclusive than the prohibitive presidential system, which has left “fewer resources for crucial areas like infrastructure, education and healthcare, and consequently hindering the nation’s development progress and the excessive powers vested in the members of executive, who are appointees and not directly accountable to the people.”
Expectedly, prominent Nigerians and groups greeted the call for change of government with support. On a personal level, First Republic parliamentarian and renowned businessman, Alhaji Aminu Dantata, echoed the view of the movers of the project that, “the parliamentary system is better and cheaper for Nigeria, but the presidential system is very costly, especially with the current economic situation in the country,” and he received a delegation of the movers of the bill led by the Minority Leader of the House, Kingsley Chinda, who paid him a courtesy visit at his residence in Kano.
Long-time advocate of restructuring, Afenifere, hailed the move but noted that while the proposed change in the political system from presidential to parliamentary “is okay, what the country needs now is not just a shift from one system of government to another.”
The group added that as things were, Nigeria’s socio-political problem “goes beyond the system of government being run. It weighs more heavily on the structure. This is why we are insisting that the country must be restructured. Any tinkering with the constitution that fails to tinker with the present structure would be cosmetic.”
The Pan-Yoruba political organisation disagreed with the reps on the amendment date of 2031, saying that once accepted, the new structure of government can be test-run in state polls coming up in 2026, ahead of the general election in 2027.
Afenifere said the template for the project should be a synthesis of the 1963 Republican Constitution, the Report of 2014 Conference under former President Goodluck Jonathan and the APC Committee Report on Restructuring led by former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el- Rufai, under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.
It called on the National Assembly to put these reports together along with the 1963 Constitution and come up with something that would be in line with the present reality for public debate
Afenifere restated its call for the amendment of the 1999 Constitution “to make Nigeria to practise true federalism which enables constituent regions to be able to exercise powers over their own affairs in general times as we had it when we had regional governments.”
Like Dantata, Afenifere said the Parliamentary System is cost-saving, makes government to be accountable, does not encourage power to be usurped by an individual, among other benefits and the current system that thrives on the basis of winner-takes-all.
ROAD TRAVELLED BEFORE
Experimenting with different models in an attempt to find an enduring and workable system of government for Nigerians has a dull history that is fraught with structural uncertainties.
As recently as 2018, a similar bill calling for change from the presidential to parliamentary system of government was moved in the House of Representatives and supported by 71 members across political parties. Nothing came out of it.
In fact, the regrets over the shortcomings of the presidential system prompted the 1994/95 National Constitutional Conference sponsored by the late Military Head of State, General Sani Abacha, to recommend an American-type presidential system, but with multiple vice-presidents.
But the Abacha regime approved a type of government similar to the French model: A parliamentary government with a president and a prime minister. It differs, however, from the conventional parliamentary system because the president possesses enormous powers, including the power to appoint the prime minister and to dissolve the parliament.
Abacha’s successor, Gen Abubakar Abdulsalami (retd.) threw the project out and brought back the presidential system that debuted with the Shehu Shagari Administration in 1979.
The lawmakers are convinced that the new project will work out well. One of the sponsors of the new bill, Abdussamad Dasuki (Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal Constituency, Sokoto State), on Friday evening knocked the presidential system that replaced the parliamentary system of the First Republic, describing it as “a new system of government, theoretically fashioned after the presidential system of the United States, but in practice imbibed the uttermost attributes of military rule.”
Nigerians, Dasuki said, were more than willing to support a consensus and coalition-based system that would put the best among their elected representatives forward for governance at the risk of being booted out of office.
Deputy spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), earlier spoke in support of the public-inspired amendments for which the National Assembly has received 40 proposals from Nigerians.
Agbese said the National Assembly is ready to go the extra mile to bring lasting peace to the country, even if it means tinkering with the constitution.
He said, “When we resumed from the last recess, the Speaker mentioned the issue of security, saying it must be tackled as long as the country is concerned.
“Expressing regret that at present farmers are unable to go to farm, he gave the assurance that the lawmakers would all play their part to end this crisis by rejigging the security architecture to guarantee the safety of lives and property in this country.”
Confirming this information, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, who said that this would be the sixth time the National Assembly would be embarking on Constitutional Amendment since 1999, underscored the point that pressure from Nigerians, due to the prevailing social and economic challenges in the country, has made it mandatory for this fresh round of amendment.
Kalu, who chairs the House Constitution Review Committee, said, “We are well aware of our present challenging circumstances as a nation. The twin challenges of insecurity and economic difficulties could tamper with the confidence of our citizens. It is therefore our constitutional responsibility to respond to the 40 bills so far proposed and also to attend to the duty of government to ensure the security and welfare of the citizens as provided by the Constitution.”
He also disclosed that some amendment proposals, such as the creation of additional seats for women in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly that created heated debates among lawmakers and had to be discarded for peace to reign, would be revisited.
SIXTH AMENDMENT
This is the sixth time that the National Assembly will be embarking on a review of the Constitution since 1999.
In the Fifth Alteration to the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the 9th National Assembly made some improvements. These include the bill to liberate the judiciary and legislature from state governors by granting them financial autonomy, putting railways on the concurrent list so that state governments can run this means of transportation and most notably, granting state governments the power to generate, distribute and transmit electricity.
This is in line with the provision in Section 13 of the Concurrent Legislative List under the Second Schedule of the Constitution.
Although overdue, many Nigerians see the amendment on electricity generation, distribution and transmission as a most welcome relief.
This is one area that has kept the nation in darkness and under-developed for many years, no doubt. Without power, many businesses have either died or relocated to other countries, thereby worsening the unemployment rate and poverty in Nigeria today.
Although many states are yet to demonstrate that they have the capacity to take advantage of this devolution of power and provide regular electricity supply to their citizens in order to minimise this economic loss by reviving industries, generating employment and reducing poverty, some of them, like Lagos, have gone ahead to explore the transportation aspect of the devolution to build railway lines that will ease the challenges facing its ever growing urban population. Others like Akwa Ibom run profitable airlines.
In a presentation made available to THEWILL, Barrister Mack Ogbamosa called on the National Assembly to look into many critical areas “if we are actually serious about practising true federalism under a democracy in Nigeria.
According to him, these areas are restructuring through resource control; state/ community police as solution to insecurity; justiciability/ enforceability of Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
On the first point, Ogbamosa said that states should be allowed to have control of the mineral resources in their territories by amending the Constitutional provision that vests ownership and control of all mineral resources in the country in the hands of the Federal Government.
This will affect Section 44 (3) of the Constitution under compulsory acquisition of property which states: “Notwithstanding the forgoing provisions of this section, the entire property in and control of minerals, mineral oils and natural gas in, under or upon the territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone of Nigeria shall vest in the Government of the Federation and shall be managed in such manner as may be prescribed by the National Assembly.”
This provision is also reflected in Section 39 of the Exclusive Legislative List in the Second Schedule of the Constitution where these items are listed as mines and minerals, including oil fields, oil mining, geological surveys and natural gas.
There is no state in Nigeria that does not have mineral resources, he submitted, adding that the amendment would compel state governments to work towards financial and stop their visit to Abuja for monthly Federal Allocation
On state/ community police as a solution to insecurity, he said the current situation where all our security forces are under the control of the Federal Government cannot solve the problem of insecurity, which has worsened progressively with each government since 2010.
He said, “Non-state actors have taken over everywhere. They have invaded our farms, homes, roads, rail tracks, schools, streets, churches and mosques. The Constitution should be amended to give room for the creation of state and community police, who are answerable to the state command and the people of the state. They will work with the locals and traditional rulers who are familiar with our local terrain, as well as being in touch with the people.
“This will help curb insecurity, youth restiveness, inter- communal crisis, ethnic militancy and reduce unemployment among youths as more of them will be absorbed by the local police force.”
This will in effect lead to the amendment of Section 45 of the Exclusive Legislative List of the Second Schedule of the Constitution which places the Police and other government security agencies established by law under the control of the Federal Government.
Justiciability/ Enforceability of Chapter II that Ogbamosa is canvassing for amendment deals with socio-economic rights. These rights, which are under Fundamental Objectives And Directive Principles of State Policy, include the provision of security and welfare for the people; provision of free and compulsory basic education as well as free secondary and tertiary education when resources are available; provision of employment opportunities; and provision of adequate housing for the people.
Unlike the Fundamental Human Rights in Chapter IV, which include right to life, freedom of association, freedom of movement and freedom of expression, which are considered as political rights and are enforceable, the rights in Chapter II are not enforceable.
Section 6(6c) of the Constitution bars the courts from entertaining any matter on justiciability of these rights. The Section states: “The judicial powers vested in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section shall not, except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, extend to any issue or question as to whether any act or 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”
Apart from amending this section, the lawmakers should also expedite action on “the establishment and regulation of authorities for the Federation or any part thereof to promote and enforce the observance of the Fundamental Objectives And Directive Principles of State Policy contained in this Constitution” in line with Section 60(a) of the Exclusive Legislative List.
“It is a mirage to think that we can have a government that is accountable when it cannot be challenged for not discharging its responsibilities,” Ogbamosa contended.
He asks, “Of what use are the freedoms in Chapter IV when a man is uneducated, unemployed and homeless? Of what use is the State when it cannot serve its primary purpose of providing security and welfare for the people?
“How meaningful is the essence of the social contract between the people and the government when the government cannot fulfil its obligations to the people?
“The belief that the government does not have the resources to fulfil its obligations to the people is erroneous. Our leaders have been profligate with our resources.
“Instead of applying the available resources for the benefit of the people, they have been engaged in squandering them for their own selfish ends largely because there is no compelling legislation that would warrant performance of these obligations.
STATE POLICE A FORGONE CONCLUSION
Developments in the ensuing week have added to the call for the creation of state police, following the worsening insecurity in the country.
A few days after 11 state governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, called on the Federal Government to support the creation of state police to curb the insecurity nationwide, President Tinubu agreed in principle to do so pending the approval of the National Economic Council, NEC.
This agreement came during the President’s Thursday, February 15, 2024 meeting with the governors of the 36 states of the federation at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Apart from the collective agreement to expedite action on the payment of salaries and the adoption of various ways to tackle the rising cost of food, the meeting agreed that the federal and state governments should work with the National Assembly towards putting in place a mechanism that will engender the creation of state police instead of the vigilantes that are being used in some states.
Modalities for the creation of State Police and addressing security issues to be discussed further at the National Economic Council, the meeting further agreed.
Even so, stakeholders, who support the idea however demand transparency and democratic methods in the setting up of state police. Sounding this note of caution is the Executive Director of an NGO, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma.
Nwanguma told THEWILL on Friday that allowing the state governors to drive the project would be counterproductive.
He said that regional police forces reflect the federalism of Nigeria. The resort to regional security networks, such as Amotekun in the South-West and similar regional and state security outfits, reflect, not only loss of confidence in the ability of the Nigeria Police, as presently structured, to secure the country but also, more importantly, Nigeria’s federalism. Therefore, states clamouring for state police should reflect the country’s federalism.
Nwanguma urged the government to “establish a committee to work out the modalities for the establishment of state police in states desirous of maintaining state police, with a view to recommending the framework and measures that should be put in place to address the concerns against state police.”
“State police should only be established on a basis of strict adherence to the principles of operational autonomy and be based on sound professional practice in appointment and control.”
A former Governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, thinks state police is an idea whose time has come. He however called for caution, saying it must be community-based with state governments acting only as coordinators.
Speaking on national television on Friday, he stated, “What we are talking about is community policing, community watch, community intelligence watch and community intelligence gathering. The fear of most political leaders that are arguing against state police is that they are going to be used during the election to terrorise people.
“If you get a governor that is crazy, he will use it to terrorise opponents and so this is not the kind of policing we are after. What we need is community policing, owned by the communities and the government is only coordinating. So, there is a coordinating chain.”
A LONG PROCESS
As usual, eight steps are required for the amendment of the constitution, prompting Deputy Speaker Kalu to alert Nigerians that the National Assembly would deliver on the amendment latest in December 2025.
The steps are first and second reading, Committee consideration and report, third reading, harmonisation of joint conference report of the Senate and House of Representatives, voting by two-thirds majority of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, Assent by the President and Gazetting of Bill.
Amos Esele is the Acting Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
