July 4, 2025
To:
Senator Barau Jibril
Deputy Senate President / Chairman, Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999
Constitution
National Assembly, Abuja
From:
The EiE Project Ltd/Gte (aka Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria)
Memorandum on “The Proposed Further Alteration to the Provisions of the Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999”
Introduction
The EiE Project Ltd/Gte (aka Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria) submits this memorandum at the Lagos Zonal Public Hearing to the Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.
EiE Nigeria is a nonpartisan network of individuals and organizations committed to building a culture of good governance and public accountability in Nigeria through active citizenship.
We had lobbied for a referendum to determine the direction of the nation and now that the provision for a referendum is one of the bills being considered, it is imperative that we lend our voice to this process.
We have contributions on the following provisions:
- Local Government Reforms
- Electoral Reforms
- Inclusive Governance
- Security and Policing
- Institutional Reforms
- Traditional Institutions
- Citizenship
- System and Structure of Government
- Fundamental Rights and Objectives
- Requests for State and Local Government Creation
1. Local Government Reforms
| Proposed Amendment | Our Position |
| Local Government Autonomy Bill SB 471 (Consolidated): A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO ESTABLISH LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS AS A TIER OF GOVERNMENT AND GUARANTEE THEIR DEMOCRATIC EXISTENCE, TENURE; AND FOR RELATED MATTERS |
There are significant contradictions in what this Bill proposes and the stated desire of the Nigeria people and this administration for a more decentralised system. Furthermore, the language of this Bill and other provisions in the proposed revisions to the Constitution are at variance with the desires of the Nigerian people.Local governments should be created by states as administrative units to facilitate development and governance.We invite the Senate to think deeper about the issues and consult wider. |
2. Electoral Reforms
| Proposed Amendment | Our Position |
| Equitable Representation in State Houses of Assembly A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE PROVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO ENSURE THAT EVERY LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN EACH STATE HAS AT LEAST ONE MEMBER REPRESENTING THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OF THAT STATE; AND FOR RELATED MATTERS. |
Codifying this nullifies the principle of federalism.
States should have the liberty to create as many local governments as they think are required for the effective running of the state. Therefore, it should |
| Independent Candidacy SB 812: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO PROVIDE FOR INDEPENDENT CANDIDACY IN PRESIDENTIAL, GOVERNORSHIP, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, STATE HOUSES OF ASSEMBLY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS ELECTIONS; AND |
The proposed 20% of registered voters as the threshold of signatures to support independent candidates is too high, when voter turnout averages about 25%.We recommend learning from our ECOWAS colleague, Senegal, where signatures required are about 0.8% of registered voters. |
| FOR RELATED MATTERS. | 0.5% – 1.5% would be recommended but more rigorous research and should be done to arrive at an achievable percentage. |
| Cross-Carpeting SB 810: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO PROVIDE FOR THE TERMINATION OF TENURE OF CERTAIN ELECTED OFFICIALS ON ACCOUNT OF A CHANGE OF POLITICAL PARTY; AND FOR RELATED MATTERS. |
Endorsed. |
| Formation of Political Parties SB 803: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE PROVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO ENHANCE EXISTING PROVISIONS ON THE FORMATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES; AND FOR RELATED MATTERS. |
Again, this contradicts the principle of federalism. If we can have independent candidates for a local government or state-level elections, why must political parties be national in scope?Why can’t we have political parties that operate in states or regions and focus on addressing issues that are peculiar to that area?Why should a government police the number of people that belong to a political party?This Bill should be changed to not require national presence for political parties.If the concern is the proliferation of political parties, the laws that mandate financial reporting and compliance with other existing laws on reporting should be enforced.Furthermore, the attempt to mandate “representation” in political parties which should be formed based on shared ideology and values is problematic in a federation. |
| Additional Powers and Criteria for Appointing Members of a State Independent Electoral Commission SB 806: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO PROVIDE THE |
Alteration of the Third Schedule
4(f) promote knowledge of sound democratic election processes at the local government level; This reflects the further confusion of trying to set up |
| CRITERIA FOR APPOINTING MEMBERS OF AND ADDITIONAL POWERS FOR THE STATE INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL COMMISSION; AND FOR RELATED MATTERS. | local governments as a third tier but also asking states to govern them. Local governments are sub-units under states – they should not be a separate tier. |
3. Inclusive Governance
| Proposed Amendment | Our Position |
| Additional Seats for Women SB 440: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SEATS FOR WOMEN IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND STATE HOUSES OF ASSEMBLY; AND FOR RELATED MATTERS. |
The creation of reserved seats for women in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly is endorsed.However, the 43 maximum members of the State Houses of Assembly from 40 mentioned in Clause 5 – Alteration of Section 77 contradicts the 44 mentioned in Clause 2 – Amendment of Section 91. |
4. Security and Policing
| Proposed Amendment | Our Position |
| Establishment of State Police SB 484: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999, TO PROVIDE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE POLICE; AND FOR RELATED MATTERS. |
Adapted from RULAAC’s Position: As part of the constitutional reform process, it is critical to prioritise the full implementation of the Police Act, 2020, particularly the activation of oversight bodies, the operationalisation of community policing, and the institutionalisation of transparent leadership appointments. The Constitution should also establish clear minimum standards for any proposed subnational policing structures. These standards must cover recruitment and appointments, command and control frameworks, accountability mechanisms, and operational guidelines, to ensure professionalism, coherence, and respect for human rights across all policing formations. In addition, to prevent misuse of force, constitutional limitations should be placed on the calibre of arms available to state and local police, while enabling the autonomous procurement of non-lethal enforcement tools with federal oversight |
| for arms acquisition. To strengthen regulatory coherence and public confidence, the Police Service Commission (PSC) should be restructured into an Independent National Policing Oversight Commission with powers akin to the National Judicial Council, empowered to oversee both federal and state policing systems. Furthermore, safeguarding the financial, administrative, and operational autonomy of State legislatures, State judiciaries, and Local Governments is essential to ensuring checks and balances and the integrity of Nigeria’s federal structure. These reforms are urgent and foundational to building a more accountable, community-responsive, and constitutionally grounded public safety system. |
5. Institutional Reforms
| Proposed Amendment | Our Position |
| Institutionalising the Legislative Bureaucracy in the Constitution SB 811: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO INSTITUTIONALIZE LEGISLATIVE BUREAUCRACY IN THE CONSTITUTION; AND FOR RELATED MATTERS. |
It is not clear what problem we are trying to solve by creating yet another Commission that drains on limited public resources. |
6. Traditional Institutions
| Proposed Amendment | Our Position |
| Council of Traditional Rulers (National / State / Local Government) SB 532: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO ESTABLISH THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TRADITIONAL RULERS, STATE COUNCIL OF TRADITIONAL RULERS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCIL OF TRADITIONAL RULERS; AND FOR RELATED MATTERS. |
Traditional rulers who are engaged with the communities that they serve and represent should already be a liaison between their people and the government.
Adding yet another bureaucratic layer to our governance structure is not needed. Furthermore, it’s a drain on our resources. |
7. Citizenship
| Proposed Amendment | Our Position |
| Birth-Right Citizenship for Certain Persons of African Descent Born in Nigeria SB 351: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO PROVIDE FOR BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP FOR PERSONS OF AFRICAN DESCENT BORN IN NIGERIA AND EITHER OF WHOSE PARENTS OR GRANDPARENTS WERE BORN IN NIGERIA, TO PROVIDE FOR CITIZENSHIP BY REGISTRATION FOR FOREIGN SPOUSES OF NIGERIAN WOMEN; AND FOR RELATED MATTERS. |
It would seem that in the new Section 25, children born to Nigerian parents abroad will not be considered Nigerian.This does not represent the desire of Nigerians, especially as we see a resurgence of our children in the diaspora wanting to visit Nigeria and be associated with our varied cultures.The ability of Nigerian women to confer citizenship on their husbands by marriage is a welcome development. |
8. System and Structure of Government
| Proposed Amendment | Our Position |
| Referendum in Matters of National and State-Level Importance SB 249: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO PROVIDE FOR THE CONDUCT OF REFERENDUM IN MATTERS OF NATIONAL OR STATE LEVEL IMPORTANCE; AND FOR RELATED MATTERS. |
This is a welcome development as it saves the cost of this extensive Constitutional Amendment process.
However, it should include a provision that citizens can determine what is a matter of national or Similar to the suggestion for independent candidacy, a threshold of 1 -2% of registered voters would be |
9. Fundamental Rights and Objectives
| Proposed Amendment | Our Position |
| Free and Compulsory Basic Education SB 823: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO MAKE FREE, COMPULSORY AND BASIC EDUCATION A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT OF ALL CITIZENS UNDER CHAPTER IV OF THE CONSTITUTION; AND RELATED MATTERS. |
Endorsed. However, this should align with either existing policy or the proposed shift in our education policy to make “basic education” twelve (12) years.In this amendment, it is written as primary and junior secondary which will be nine (9) years. |
| Defining Acts that Constitute Torture, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment SB 824: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO FURTHER DEFINE ACTS THAT CONSTITUTE TORTURE, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT; AND FOR RELATED MATTERS. |
Endorsed. |
| Right of an Unborn Child / Right to a Clean and Healthy Environment SB 825: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO ALTER THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999 TO FURTHER DEFINE ACTS THAT CONSTITUTE TORTURE, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT; AND FOR RELATED MATTERS. |
Endorsed. |
10. State Creation Proposals and Local Government Creation
| Proposed Amendment | Our Position |
| State Creation | Creating 31 new states will bring the number of states in the federation to 67 states. Most states are unviable without federal support. What problem do we think creating more states will solve outside of putting more pressure on limited resources? We have at least 250 ethnic nationalities – are we trying to create a state for each one?
We don’t need any more states. The politics and cost are unnecessary. If we need any more structures, it would be local governments to ensure that citizens have more direct access to governance. |
| Local Government Creation | It is instructive that the South-West is the only region that did not request for the creation of new local governments. This is because in the spirit of federalism they have created Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), following the example of Lagos State, to bring governance closer to citizens.In light of this example and our stated desire to have more sub-nationals take ownership of development in their states, the list of local governments should be expunged from the Constitution and kept as the sole preserve of the states to create and administer as we have advocated in the Local Government Reforms section. |
Conclusion and Recommendations
We believe that some of the critical bills under review raise more constitutional, fiscal and governance questions than they provide solutions. The configuration of Nigeria lends itself to a true federation where sub-nationals can determine what happens within their borders. There are clear provisions in the proposed amendments that speak to a more centrist type of governance which defeats the notion of more functional sub-nationals. The proposed
Local Government Reforms is a clear example.
Constitutions are not “drafted”, they are “made” with robust and difficult conversations with stakeholders. An attempt to codify every possible action will continue to be
problematic until we have an honest conversation about our terms of engagement as sovereign ethnic nationalities. For example that we have to codify this provision is a
testament to how much of our humanity we have lost and laws will not bring them back:
“(1A) For the purpose of subsection (1) (a) of this section, “torture, inhuman or degrading treatment” includes parading persons arrested by the police or any other law enforcement agency in the public”.
We encourage the Senate to review this process and perhaps go back to what EiE, #FixPolitics and other organisations have lobbied as our next steps – a single bill that allows the Constitution to be amended based on a referendum. Once this passes, citizens can then collate issues they think are of importance to them and present them at the state and
national levels as the Constitution allows.
For God & Country,
Opeyemi Adamolekun
Executive Director
The EiE Project Ltd/Gte (aka Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria)