Constitution in brief
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was
promulgated on 5 May 1999, and entered into force on 31 May. The
main provisions are summarized below:
Provisions
Nigeria is one indivisible sovereign state, to be known as the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigeria is a Federation, comprising
36 States and a Federal Capital Territory. The Constitution
includes provisions for the creation of new States and for
boundary adjustments of existing States. The Government of the
Federation or of a State is prohibited from adopting any religion
as a state religion.
Legislature
The legislative powers of the Federal are vested in the National
Assembly, comprising a Senate and a House of Representatives. The
109-member Senate consists of three Senators from each State and
one from the Federal Capital Territory, who are elected for a
term of four years. The House of Representatives comprises 360
members, representing constituencies of nearly equal population
as far as possible, who are elected for a four-year term. The
Senate and House of Representatives each have a Speaker and
Deputy Speaker, who are elected by the members of the House from
among themselves. Legislation may originate in either the Senate
or the House of Represantatives, and having been approved by the
House in which it originated by a two-thirds majority, will be
submitted to the other House for approval, and subsequently
presented to the President for assent. Should the President
withhold his assent, and the bill returned to the National
Assembly and again approved by each House by a two-third
majority, the bill will become law. The legislative powers of a
State of the Federation will be vested in the House of Assembly
of the State. The House of Assembly of a State will consist of
three or four times the number of seats that the State holds in
the House of Representatives (comprising not less than 24 and not
more than 40 members).
Executive
The executive powers of the Federation are vested in the
President, who is the Head of State, the Chief Executive of the
Federation and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the
Federation. The President is elected for a term of four years and
must receive not less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the
Federal Capital Territory. The President nominates a candidate as
his associate from the same political party to occupy the office
of Vice-President. The Ministers of the Government of the
Federation are nominated by the President subject to confirmation
by the Senate. Federal executive bodies inlude the Council of
State, which advises the President in the exercise of his powers.
The executive powers of a State are vested in the Governor of
that State, who is elected for a four-year term and must receive
not less than one-quarter of votes cast in at least two-third of
all local government areas in the State.
Judiciary
The judiciary powers of the Federation are vested in the courts
established for the Federation, and the judicial powers of a
State in the courts established for the State. The Federation has
a Supreme Court, a Court of Appeal and a Federal High Court. Each
State has High Court, a Sharia Court of Appeal and a Customary
Court of Appeal. Chief Judges are nominated on the recommendation
of a National Judicial Council.
Local Government
The State are divided into 768 local government areas. The system
of local government by democratically-elected local government
councils is guaranteed, and the Government of each State will
ensure their existence. Each local government council within the
State will participate in the economiac planning and development
of the area over which it exercises authority.