The House of Representatives has disavowed a widely circulated draft bill proposing a return to the regional system of government in Nigeria.
The document, titled “A Bill for an Act to substitute the annexure to Decree 24 of 1999 with a new governance model for the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” seeks to establish a new legal framework known as “The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria New Governance Model for Nigeria Act 2024.”
Authored by Dr. Akin Fapohunda, who is neither a senator nor a member of the House, the draft appears to be a private initiative. House spokesman Akin Rotimi clarified, “The Committees on Rules and Business and Constitution Review have confirmed that there is no such bill before them.”
Francis Waive, Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, also confirmed, “There are two routes to making presentations for constitutional amendments: members proposing an amendment bill during plenary, and memoranda from individuals and groups to the Constitution Review Committee. On this specific memo (draft bill), I doubt if it has come before the Rules and Business Committee for listing. I speak as chairman of the committee.”
Dr. Akin Fapohunda, the proponent of the draft bill, explained his motivation to our correspondent: “The President, this week, returned us to the old national anthem. At independence, Nigeria embraced a regional system of government. So, I felt we could also revisit the past and return to regionalism. I have done a preliminary draft for Nigerians to ponder over”
He added, “Next week, I will be seeing my representative in the House of Representatives. We hope that senators and House members can embrace this modest proposal for a change. If this is acceptable, we can then sit down and do a proper drafting of the bill”
He added, “Next week, I will be seeing my representative in the House of Representatives. We hope that senators and House members can embrace this modest proposal for change. If this is acceptable, we can then sit down and do a proper drafting of the bill.”
