independence constitution Flashcards
what was the independence constitution
This constitution marked the beginning of the post-independence era of constitution-making, a period between independence and the First Republic in Nigeria. The 1960 constitution contained most of the issues settled at the 1957 and 1958 constitutional conferences specifically organized to remedy some of the weaknesses inherent in the Lyttleton’s 1954 Constitution and also, the issue of independence for Nigeria.
The 1957/1958 Constitutional Conference
Main Focus of the Conference
One of the major factors that accentuated the agitations for self- government and early independence for Nigeria was the fact that Ghana was granted political independence and became a sovereign nation in March 1957. Therefore in May 1957 the Nigerian Constitutional conference took place in London under the Chairmanship of Mr. Allan- Lennox Boyd, the Colonial Secretary with delegates from the regional governments and a cream of political leaders were also in attendance.
The following were some of the major issues addressed:
• The question of independence for Nigeria
• The regional self-government
• The minority question
• Granting additional responsibility to the political leadership
• Power sharing between the Federal and Regional governments.
The 1957 Conference s Major Resolutions
- Sir Henry Willinck was appointed to head a commission to look into the ways of allaying the fears of the minority ethnic groups who had been agitating for separate region in Nigeria.
- The political leaders, for the first time, unanimously agreed on October 1, 1960 as the date for Nigeria s independence.
- Lagos to remain excised from the Western region and to be the federal territory.
- Unified electoral system based on universal adult suffrage was to be adopted in the regions except for the North where it was to be restricted to adult male.
- The West and the East were to be granted the status of self- government on 8th August, 1957 while the North was to attain the status in 1959.
- It recommended a bi-cameral legislature for Nigeria A Senate and a House of Representatives.
- The position of Prime Minister and Premier were recommended for the central and regional governments respectively.
- The police should be centrally controlled even as the conference recognized its dual responsibility to both the Federal and the Regional governments.
- It was recommended that the fundamental human rights should be entrenched in the 1960 Constitution to protect the liberties of the minority groups.
- In the same vein, it was also recommended that the non-Moslems minorities in the Northern Nigeria should be given the option to have their litigations heard by non-Moslem Courts.
The 1958 Conference s Major Resolutions
This conference was attended by various categories of delegates from Nigeria and it was aimed at clearing some grey areas contained in the recommendations by the 1957 London conference. It lasted between September 29 and October 27, 1958.See Ojiako (1981:53).
Some of the followings were the major issues around which its recommendations were centred:
• The minority groups problems
• Northern regional self-government
• Date of Independence
• The control of the police and the prisons
• Revenue generation/sharing arrangement
• The position of the Southern Cameroons at independence.
Major Provisions of the 1960 Constitution
- It provided for a Cabinet, Westminster or Parliamentary system of government in which there was a Governor-General (representing the Queen of England) and a Prime Minister as head of government. Under the system, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe who was the Governor-General was a ceremonial head while Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Prime Minister exercised the Executive powers in the day-to-day running of the government. The one (Governor-General) was a dignified or ceremonial head of state while the other (Prime Minister) was the effective head of government.
Major Provisions of the 1960 Constitution
Fusion of powers members of the Executive were also members of the Parliament
• Collective responsibility members of the Executive were collectively responsible to the Parliament in which case, no Minister of Cabinet rank should criticize the government in public otherwise the government will collapse
• Vote of No Confidence once the Parliament passes a vote of no confidence on the Prime Minister the government stands dissolved
• The status of the Prime Minister he was invited by the Head of State being the leader of the party with majority in the Parliament to form the government. Therefore, he was
primus inter pares first among equals.
2. It established a Federal parliament which was made up of two chambers A Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate was composed of 44 members, in which the three regions were represented by 12 selected members. The Federal Territory of Lagos had 4 members while 4 members were selected by the Governor-General in consultation with the Prime Minister. The House of Representatives, on the other hand, was comprised of 320 popularly elected members from various constituencies across the federation.
Major Provisions of the 1960 Constitution
- The 1960 Constitution divided powers between the Federal and Regional governments into Exclusive, Concurrent and Residual Legislative Lists. It gave only the Federal government the powers to legislate on any subjects under the Exclusive List such as Defence, External Affairs, Customs and Immigration, Currency, Citizenship, Airway, Railways, etc. The Regions were empowered to legislate on any subjects under the Residual List which were matters not listed under the Exclusive or Concurrent Lists while both the Federal and the Regions were to legislate on any subjects under the Concurrent Legislative List which included Education, Judiciary, Agriculture, Industrial development, Census, Taxation, Elections, etc.
- The Independence Constitution of 1960 enshrined in details, the Fundamental Human Rights as a measure to allay the fears of the minority groups and also to guarantee the liberties of the Nigerian citizens. It included: Rights to freedom of speech; Freedom of association and movement; Freedom from discriminatory treatment on account of sex, religion, tribe or language; Freedom of worship; Freedom of expression; Freedom to privacy and life, etc.
Major Provisions of the 1960 Constitution
- The Constitution provided for emergency powers given to the Prime Minister with the approval of the Federal parliament to declare a state of emergency for the purpose of maintaining peace, order and good government. It defined the emergency period as a situation when: a) The federation of Nigeria was at war b) There was total breakdown of law and order in any part thereof c) There was a resolution passed by two-thirds (2/3) majority members of the parliament declaring that democratic institutions were being threatened by subversive elements in the country.
- In order to ensure the independence of Judiciary, the 1960 Constitution established a National Judicial Service Commission with the powers to recommend for appointment, Justices of the Supreme Court and High Court Judges. The salaries and allowances of the judicial officers were charged on the Consolidated Fund, which meant that government was no longer in a position to control them through salaries.
Other provisions in this regard were:
• Justices or Judges could no longer be easily removed by the government. Their removal was made a complicated Constitutional matter
• The Federal Supreme Court was vested with the power of Judicial review to declare the action of ether the Federal or Regional government illegal, null and void if such violated the Constitution
• The Judiciary became decentralized under the 1960 Constitution, whereby the regions had the power over the regional Courts while the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal were under the Federal control.
7. Another important feature of the independence Constitution was the provision for its amendment, the procedure of which was made cumbersome to protect the federal union. The motion for amendment must receive a two-thirds majority votes in the federal parliament in concurrence with a two-thirds votes in at least, two-thirds of the regions.
Some of the major changes introduced were:
- For the first time in Nigerian political history, bicameral legislature whereby there were Houses of Assembly and Houses of Chiefs in each of the regions (especially in the Eastern region where there was no traditional institution) in the country. This was aimed at making the federal structure more meaningful in the post-colonial Nigeria. It was also necessary to make representation more equitable both at regional and federal level.
- Another significant improvement was the unified electoral system which brought the whole country together under the same electoral laws. Hitherto, the principle of universal adult suffrage was alien in the Nigerian electoral system, especially in the Northern part where women were not allowed to vote or be voted for.
