VERTICAL POWER SHARING IN NIGERIA'S FEDERAL SYSTEM: ISSUES, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

Abstract

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 contains the basic legal and political values which form the foundation of the Nigerian State. The Constitution provides the framework within which the legal, political and economic system of Nigeria is organised. It establishes federalism and the federal structure as the recognized system. The doctrine of Federalism which has been adopted by virtue of Section 2(2) of the Constitution that stipulates the autonomy of each government, presupposes its separate existence and its independence from the Federal Government, is essential to federal arrangement. Therefore, each government exists not as an appendage of another government but as an autonomous entity in the sense of being able to exercise its own will in the conduct of its affairs, free from direction by another government.1 However, the division of powers as enumerated in the Second Schedule to the Constitution shows a tendency towards centralization. This has given the Nigerian Federation a powerful centre. The experience so far reveals a constant pull and push with flexing of muscles between the legislature and the executive; and complaints by federating units of overbearing influence and interference with their independence while the federating units continue to depend on the centre for their survival. This paper attempts to examine the contemporary issues, the multidimensional agitations by the various components of the structure, and the challenges towards attaining an ideal federal system.