Convenor, C.F.C.R. Secretary, C.F.C.R.
Citizen’s Forum for Constitutional Reform
2, Olabode Close, Ilupeju Estate, Lagos
P. O. Box 15700, Ikeja
Tel/Fax – 01 4934420, 8043221
Email – cfcr@cddnig.org

Memorandum submitted on 30th March 2001

PREAMBLE

In the past forty-one years of Nigeria’s post independence existence, the military has ruled the country for about thirty years. This has meant that the country has had very little experience of constitutional governance. The 1963 constitution was suspended in 1966 by the Military. The 1979 presidential constitution was suspended in 1983 by the military. The usual way the military has ruled is by decrees and edicts. It is however well established that constitution is crucial in any democracy since it is the basic and fundamental law of the land. It is a recognition of this fact that led to the formation of the Citizens Forum for Constitutional Reform (C.F.C.R.) The Citizens Forum for Constitutional Reform is a coalition of over forty civil society organisations committed to a process led and participatory approach to constitutional reform in Nigeria. Presently, the Forum has a nine person National Steering Committee, six Zonal Co-ordinators and State Co-ordinators for the thirty-six states of the federation and Abuja.

It is no longer in dispute that the 1999 constitution is essentially flawed. It is a conviction that is shared by both government and civil society. It is this conviction that made the Federal Government to establish the Technical Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution with membership drawn from the three political parties. The Forum has been monitoring the work of this Committee and has noted the unanimity with which all strands of opinion in the country condemned the 1999 constitution and campaigned for its fundamental reform. The Forum observes that the review process of the Federal Government is shallow, elitist, and restrictive and does not involve the people.

Meanwhile, the numerous crises and the spate of ethnic and religious violence threatening Nigeria’s nascent democracy and corporate existence are no doubt rooted in our socio-economic and political history. Their persistence confirms the simple fact that the constitution has defects and cannot provide the answers. There is therefore an urgent need to make a people’s constitution that will significantly address the problems confronting the country. Such a constitution should reflect Nigeria’s historical experiences, cultures, traditions and hopes for the future. The Constitution should be a dynamic document that will reflect the past, articulate the present and anticipate the future. The opportunity for making a people’s constitution can be creatively utilised to mobilise the people to resolve the intractable conflicts in the country and reform the nature of governance. It is against this background that the Forum welcomes the formation of the National Assembly Committee on the review of the 1999 constitution.

PROCESS OF MAKING THE CONSTITUTION

The Forum believes that the process of making the constitution is as important as the final product. Meanwhile, the history of constitution making in Nigeria shows that some wise men (rarely women) are appointed to write a constitution for the country. The Citizens Forum is of the view that this is not a proper way to make a constitution. The Forum argues that constitution making should not be a secret affair dominated and directed by political elites especially conservative lawyers and politicians. The Forum argues that the constitution review process in Nigeria should be guided by the principles of inclusivity, Diversity, Participation, Transparency and openness, Autonomy, Accountability and Legitimacy. 

a. Inclusivity – All voices and opinions including those of minority groups should be heard and reflected. Efforts must be made to bring in the views and concerns of people from all works of life. Every identifiable community should be invited, assisted and encouraged to participate in the review process. Nationality groups, women, students, the armed forces, the illiterate, the disabled, the poor, the rural dwellers, the youth, professions, trade unions, religious groups, traditional rulers, community organisations, prisoners, human rights organisations, pro-democracy groups, political parties, cultural organisations etc. should be involved to say what they will like to see in the constitution.

b. Diversity - The Committee charged with the review process and the process itself must reflect existing diversity in terms of ethnic identity, language, religion and gender. It is the responsibility of the country’s leadership and those leading the process to ensure that this diversity is reflected. If this diversity is not reflected, the final document cannot claim to be democratic, legitimate and reflective of popular view.

c. Participation – The process must take on board the involvement of people at all levels in debating freely the content of the constitution. Every effort must be made to ensure that people participate in the process. Those leading the process must ensure that they put mechanisms in place such as accepting oral memoranda; organising debate and discussion in local languages and aggressive publicity to make sure that people participate in the process. Participation by the people is crucial because if the people do not participate, both the process and the final document will be useless and irrelevant to democratic renewal that is so badly needed in the country. It is necessary that the people not only participate in the process but also should have easy access to the process and the final constitution; understand it and use it in the defence of their individual and collective rights. The forum endorses the argument that participatory approach to constitution making is probably one of the best panaceas to instability, public cynicism, and alienation from government, coups and counter coups. The principle of participation is pivotal because the centrality of constitution to the democratic process is increasingly being recognised by scholars, activists and governments all over the world.

d. Transparency and Openness – The process must be transparent and open and must be seen by all to be so. There should be no “no go areas” and “no hidden agenda”. To ensure transparency and openness, all submission made to the review panel; analysis of the submissions and the draft constitution should be filed, annotated, published and circulated widely. Furthermore, anyone who submits a memorandum should be acknowledged and drafts and final copy of the constitution sent to him/her.

e. Autonomy – The body charged with leading the review process must be autonomous and independent from government control. It should not be tied to the whims and caprices of any arm of government. There should be an act of the National Assembly establishing the body. Furthermore, the final document to emerge from the process must not be tampered with by the government, and the process must be seen to be free from government control.

f. Accountability – The body charged with the responsibility of reviewing the constitution must be accountable to parliament and the people. There should be periodic publication of report and progress of work in an open and transparent manner.

g. Legitimacy – Finally, a national referendum should be conducted to test the popularity of the draft constitution. The minimum vote for approval should be 51% of “yes” votes. The referendum will further popularise the contents of the constitution and give the people the opportunity to review the draft constitution and be sure that politicians have not eliminated their collective views. 

OBJECTIVES OF THE FORUM

To undertake an effective mobilisation work, the Forum decided that the issues to be addressed must be divided into short-term and long-term. The short-term objectives include:

•  To establish a vibrant network for sharing of resources, exchanging ideas and supporting other initiatives on constitutional reform.

• To mobilise popular opinion in the civil society and sensitise grass roots communities on constitutional reform.

• To work with government, parliament and political parties in the constitution review process.

• To do a thorough analysis of the terms of reference of the presidential technical committee on the review of the 1999 constitution as well as the legislative agenda for constitutional reform.

§ To devise viable mobilisation strategies for a comprehensive constitutional reform process through the sharing of different experiences, development of civic education materials and public enlightenment mechanisms.

The long-term objectives include:

• To produce an alternative model constitution drawing strongly on the consensus reached at the level of civil society organisations as a basis for further discussions with the state and parliament sponsored initiatives.

• To campaign for an independent constitutional review commission charged with the production of an inclusive constitution for the country.

• To work towards a national conference and national referendum on the Nigerian constitution.
  
  

ACTIVITIES OF THE FORUM

The Forum has held several meetings to work out strategies for involving critical constituencies, communities and interest groups in the constitution reform process. The work of the forum is guided by the principles of inclusivity, diversity, participation, transparency, accountability, autonomy, legitimacy and accessibility. The forum utilises diverse mechanisms that emphasise the need for consensus, public enlightenment and the use of simple and local languages that various communities will find easily accessible. 
The Forum organised a seven-day training programme for all steering committee members, zonal and state co-ordinators and officials of the Forum’s secretariat. The zonal and state co-ordinators are making contact with parliamentarians, political parties, non-governmental organisations, and community-based organisations with a view to forming coalitions of organisations for constitutional reform in each state of the federation. Coalitions have already been formed in many states. In addition to the above, the Forum has also agreed on the following nine critical areas as the main focus of its intervention in the constitution reform work:

1. Citizenship and Residency Rights
2. Federalism (to address the over-concentration of powers at the centre)
3. Engendering the language and content of the Nigerian Constitution
4. Fiscal Federalism/Resource Control
5. Constitutionally entrenched independent commissions
6. Freedom of Association and Political Parties
7. Social and Economic Rights
8. Access to justice and the rule of law
9. The role of the security sector

The Forum has organised colloquia on all the above thematic areas. The colloquia brought together civil society institutions working on specific themes and specialist academics and practitioners from Nigeria and abroad to share their experiences and comparative knowledge. The colloquia also enabled the Forum to engage in a thorough examination of the various sections of the 1999 Constitution with a view to providing a basis for the mobilisation work of the State and Zonal co-ordinators of the Forum. It also offered insights as well as materials for the production of the alternative model constitution, which is a cardinal objective of the Forum. 

THIS MEMORANDUM

This memorandum is being submitted to the National Assembly Committee on the review of the 1999 constitution at this point in time in order to beat the deadline set by the committee for the submission of memorandum. THE CITIZENS FORUM HAS NOT COMPLETED ITS WORK. This submission therefore contains the TENTATIVE position of the forum. The Forum will soon commence its outreach programme. The outreach programme will involve debate of the issues arising from the review of the constitution at the community, local government, state and national levels. There will also be a conference on the review of the 1999 constitution in all states of the federation and Abuja. In addition, there will be zonal conferences in the six geopolitical zones of the country. Each state and zone will produce their position on the 1999 constitution. Finally, there will be a national conference to round up the activities where all the positions will be considered. The Forum is also carrying out a national scientific survey to gather quantifiable and reliable data on the trends and responses of Nigerian people to the 1999 constitution. The reports of the national scientific survey will complement the findings from the colloquia, submissions and outreach programme. All these will lead to the production of an alternative model constitution, which is a cardinal objective of the Forum.

This memorandum will address ten areas based on the colloquia and review meeting organised by the Forum:

1. THE 1999 CONSTITUTION AND WOMEN – Constitution making in Nigeria has largely excluded women. The provisional ruling council that promulgated the 1999 constitution was made up of 26 Military officers, all males. The language of the constitution is in masculine gender.

We recommend that:

¨ The language of the constitution should be gender neutral. As a result, the following sections should be amended:

S. 5 (1) (a) him should read him or her.
S. 5 (2) (a) him to read him or her
S. (5) (5) he should read he or she
S. 25 (1) (a) provision – his or her parents
S. 26 (1) (a), (b) (c),to read his or her 
S. 27 (2) (a), (b) (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), to read him or her
S. 28 (1) & (2) to read he or she
S. 29 (3) (B) to read he or she
S. 30 (1) to read he or person
S. 30 (2) to read his or her such person’s citizenship and he to read he or she
S. 31 – he to read he or she
S. 33 (1) & (2) to read his or her life, he or she
S. 34 (1) dignity of his or her person
S. 35 (1), (a) (b) to read his or her, he or she
S. 35 (4) to read “if such person “to replace if he is not
S. 35 (4) (a) to read two months from the date of the persons” arrest or...”
S. 35 (4) (b) to read 3 months from the date of such persons arrest or …. such person (without prejudice) to any further proceedings that may be brought against him or her
S. 36 (1) to read “in the determination of a person’s civil rights
S. 36 (4) to read “such person” instead of he shall, unless
S. 36 (b) (a) to read in the language he or she understands
S. 36 (6) (b) to read be given adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his or her defence.
S. 36 (6) (c) – to read his or her legal practitioners
S. 36 (7) to read he or she cannot
S. 36 (8) to read him or her in that behalf
S. 36 (9) to read he or she
S. 36 (10) to read he or she
S. 38 (1) to read his or her religion or belief
S. 44 (1) (b) to read “of his or her interest”
S. 46 (1) to read “in relation to him or her”
S. 50 (1) (a), (b) & (c) to read “the person”
S. 52 (1) to read “before taking his or her seat”
S. 53 (1) (a) and (b) to read “and in his or her absence”
S. 53 (2) (a) & (b) to read his or her
S. 54 (3) to read “of which he or she is a member”
S. 56 (3) (a) to read ... “shall declare any direct pecuniary interest he or she may” and in the proviso his to read his or her.
S. 57 to read he or she is not entitled
S. 58 (4) to read “the President shall within 30 days…. signify that he or she assents or that he or she withholds assents
S. 59 (4) to read...”presentation of the bill on the President, fail to signify his or her assent or where the president withholds assent.
S. 65 (1) (a) & (b) to read he or she
S. 65 (2) (a) & (b) to read he or she
S. 66 (1) (a) (b), (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) & (i) to read he or she 
S. 67 (1) to read ...”as the president considers”
S. 67 (2) to read ...”the conduct of his or her Ministry”
S. 68 (1), (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), & (h) to read he or she
S. 68 (3) to read “of which he or she is a member...”
S. 87 (1) to read “praying that auditor general be so removed…..” & functions of his or her office.
S. 89 (1) (c) to read “ or under his or her control, and to examine him or her as a witness.
S. 89 (1) (d) to read “order him or her to pay all costs by reason of his or her failure
S. 92 (1) (a) (c) to read he or she
S. 94 to read before taking his or her seat
S. 95 (1) to read at in the absence of the Speaker, the deputy speaker shall preside
S. 96 (2) last time to read, he or she shall adjourn the house
S. 98 (3) to read he or may have in any matters
Provision to S. 98 (3) to read who signifies his or her intention
S. 99 to read “such person “to replace that “ he is not entitled
S. 100 (4) to read “the Governor shall within and that he or she assents or that he or she withhold assent”
S. 105 (3) to read “after his or her being sworn in”
S. 106 (a), (b), (c), & (d) to read he or she or such person
S. 107 (a) (b), (c), (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) & (i) to read such person 
S. 108 (1) to read “he or she
S. 108 (2) to read “the conduct of his or her ministry
S. 109 (1) to read “vacate his or her seat 
S. 109 (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) & (g) to read such person and the proviso to S. 109 (1) (g) to read his or her membership of the latter political party
S. 109 (3) to read “in writing that such member is satisfied”
S. 125 (2) to read “who shall submit his or her reports”
- authorised by him or her in that behalf
S. 125 (5) to read 3rd line “submit his or her report
S. 125 (6) to read “ in the exercise of his or her functions
S. 127 (1) 5th line, to read “function of his or her office
S. 129 (c) 3rd & 5th lines to read “under his or her office”
S. 129 (d) line 5 to read order him or her
Line 6, to read compelling his or her attendance 
Line 7, to read his or her such failure
S. 131 (a) (b) (c) (d) to read such person
S. 133 (a) & (b) to read he or she
S. 134 (1) (a) & (b) to read he or she.
S. 134 (2) (a) & (b) to read he or she or the candidate
S. 134 (4) (a) & (b) to read he or she or the candidate
S. 135 (1) (a) to read his or her successor
S. 135 (1) (b) to read he or she dies
S. 135 (1) (c) to read when his or her resignation
S. 135 (1) (d) to read he or she otherwise
S. 135 (2) to read shall vacate his or her office
S. 135 (2) (a) to he or she took the oath
S. 135 (2) (b) to read but for his or her death
S. 135 (1) 4th line to read “with him or her
S.137 (1) (a) line 2 & 4 to read he or she
S. 137 (1) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j) to read such person 
S. 138 to read during his or her tenure
S. 140 line 2 to read until such person “has declared his or her assets and liabilities as prescribed in this Constitution and he or she has taken..”
S. 142 (1) line 4 to read unless he or she nominates
Line 5 to read “for his or her running for” 
S. 143 (2) (b) to read “of his or her office”
S. 143 (5) line 4, to read “in his or her opinion”
S. 144 (2) line 3, to read “as renders him or her permanently
S. 145 line 3 to read he or she is proceeding on vacation or that he or she is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his or her office 
S. 147 (4) line 3 to read “resigned his or her membership
S. 148 (c) to read in the discharge of his or her executive line 3, to read he or she
S. 149, line 2 – to read his or her
Line 5 – “ “ “ “
S. 150 (2) to read he or she
S. 151 (1) to read his or her in the performance of his or her functions 
S. 152 line . 3 to read his or her office
Line 4 – his or her assets.
S. 154(2) line 1 to read – his or her powers.
S. 154(3) line 1 – his or her powers to appoint
S. 155(1)(a) line 1 – he or she holds the office by virtue of which he or she.
S. 155(1)(b) line 2 – his or her having previously
S. 155(1)(c) line 2- his or her having previously
S. 155(2) line 2- he or she were not a member.
S. 156(1)(a)&(b) to read such person.
S. 156(2) proviso- to read he or she shall, or his or her appointment be deemed to have resigned his or her former office.
S. 157(1) line 4 – that he or she be so removed.
S. 161(a) – to read by virtue of his or her holding.
S. 171(5) to read his or her powers.
S. 171(6) proviso – he or she shall be entitled to return.
S. 173(2) line 3 – his or her disadvantages.
S. 174(2) last line- his or her department.
S. 175(2) – him or her after consultation.
S. 175(3) line 2 to read his or her powers.
S. 177(a)(b)(c)&(d) to read such person.
S. 179(1)(a)&(b)- he to read he or she.
S. 179(2)(a)&(b)- he to read he or she.
S. 179(4)(a)&(b) – he to read he or she.
S. 180(1)(a)(b)&(d) he to read he or she.
S. 180(1)(c) his to read his or her.
S. 180(2) his to read his or her.
S. 181(1) line 4, him to read him or her.
S. 182(1)(a), he to read he or she.
S. 182(b)(c)(d),(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)( j ) to read such person.
S. 183 to read he or she.
S. 185(1) line 3, he to read he or she; his assets to read his or her assets & ......
S. 187(1) line 4 he to read he or she nominates
Line 5 his associate- his to her associate.
S. 188(5) line 4, his opinion to his or her opinion.
S. 189(2) line 3 – him to read him or her permanently incap
line 4, his opinion to read his or her office
S. 190 line 3, he to read he or she is proceeding
Line 4, his office to read he or she transmits
S. 191 (3) (b) his to read his or her assumption
S. 192 (3) line 3, he to read he or she shall be deemed
S. 193 (2) (c) line 3, he to read he or she
S. 194 line 2, his office to read his or her office
Line 2, his to read he or she
Line 2, his to read his or her
S. 195 (2) line 2, to read he or she
S. 196 (1) line 2, his to read his or her functions
S. 196 (4) line 3, to read his or her assets
S. 199 (1) (a) he to read he or she 
S. 199 (1) (b) & (c) his to read his or her
S. 199 (2) he to read he or such & him to be him or her.
S. 200 (1)(a)&(b) he to read such person.
S. 200 (2) he to be he or she.
Line 4 his to be his or her
S. 200 (2) line 5, his to be his or her
S. 200 (3) he to be he or her
S. 201 (1) line 5, he to be he or she
S. 208 (1) his powers to be his or her powers
S. 208 (5) proviso – line 2 – he to be he or her
S. 210 (2) line 3, his to be his or her
S. 211 (2) line 2, him or her
Line 3, his to read his or her department
S. 211 (3) his to read his or her
S. 212 (2) to line 2, him to read him or her
S. 213 (4) line 2, he to read he or she
S. 215 (3) line 2, he to read he or she may
S. 215 (4) line 6, he to read he or she
S. 218 (3) line 2, he to read he or she
S. 222 (b) line 2, his to read his or her place of origin
S. 231 (3) line 3, he to read he or she
S.238 (3) line 2, he to read he or she
S. 256 (3) line 3, he to read he or she
S. 261 (3) (a) & (b) he to read he or she
S. 266 (3) (a) & (b) he to read he or she
S. 271 (3) line 2, he to read he or she
S. 276 (3) (a) (b) he to read he or she
S. 281 (3) (a) & (b) he to read he or she
S. 288 (2) (a) & (b) he to read he or she
S. 289 line 5, he to read he or she
Line 8, he to read he or she
S. 290 (1) line 3, his to read his or her
Line 2, he to read he or she
S. 291 (1) line 2, he to read he or she
Line 3, he to read he or she
S. 291 (2) line 3 & 4, he to read he or she
S. 291 (3) (a) & (b) he to read he or she
S. 292 (1) his to read his or her
S.292 (1) (a) (ii) proviso –he & his to read he or she & his or her
S. 292 (1) (b) line 5, his to read his or her inability
S. 294 (1) line 2, his to read his or her
S. 294 (2) proviso last line, he to read he or she
S. 305 (2) line 6, he to read he or she
S. 306 (1) line 4 his hand to be his or her hand
Last line he to be he or she was appointed
S. 308 (1) (a) last line, his to read his or her period of office
S. 316 (3) line 4, his membership to be his or her membership
Line 8, his membership to read his or her membership 

We also propose the following amendments:

1. The right of women to pre-natal and post natal care should he enshrined.

2. One of the conditions given for the granting of certificate of naturalisation is full age and capacity. We recommend that capacity should be deleted as it is open to many interpretations.

3. Section 28 which prohibits dual citizenship for non-Nigerians who become citizens of Nigeria should be expunged. The provision cannot be justified since Nigerians can acquire citizenship of other countries without losing their Nigerian citizenship. Moreover, there are provisions in the constitution for depriving a naturalised person of his citizenship. If section 28 is not deleted such a person will become a stateless person.

4.  Section 29, subsection 4(b) which provides that any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age should be deleted.

5.  Sections 25-23 should be amended so that any man (foreigner) who is or has been married to a Nigerian woman will be eligible for citizenship by registration just as any woman who is or has been married to a Nigeria man is eligible for citizenship by registration. 

6. There should be a clear provision in the constitution affirming gender equality and non-discrimination based on sex. There should be a provision prohibiting any culture, custom or tradition, which is against human dignity. In this regard, section 42 should be amended as follows:
All persons are equal before and under the law in all spheres of politics, economic, social, cultural life and in every other respect and shall enjoy equal protection of the law. 

7.  There should be a clear affirmative action clause. A proviso should be added to section 42 that Notwithstanding any thing in the constitution, the state shall take affirmative action in favour of groups marginalised on the basis of gender, age, disability or any other reason created by history, tradition or culture, for the purpose of redressing imbalances which exist against them. At least 30 percent of all elective and appointive positions should be reserved for women.

8.  Section 34 on the right to the dignity of the human person should be strengthened. Subsection (a) should read No person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment whatsoever ; the subjection of any man, woman or child to torture, or degrading treatment on the basis of culture, custom, tradition or religion shall be prohibited. Subsection (d) should be added and it should read No person shall be subjected to any law, culture, custom, tradition, religion or gender practice which undermines his or her dignity, welfare or interests.

9.  Section 37 on the right to private and family life should be strengthened. It should contain the following subsections:
1. In recognition of the fundamental importance of reproduction to the continuity of family life, the state shall ensure that every pregnant woman shall have free access to pre-natal, peri-natal and post natal care.
2. Men and Women at the age of 18 years and above shall have the right to marry and found a family and are entitled to equal rights in marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. The minimum age of marriage shall be 18 years.
3. The National Assembly shall make appropriate laws for the protection of the rights of widows and widowers to inherit property of their diseased spouses and to enjoy parental rights over their children.
4. Marriage shall be entered into with free consent of the man and woman intending to marry.
5. It is the right and duty of parents to care for and bring up their children irrespective of marital status.
6. Children may not be separated from their families or other persons entitled to bring them up against their own will or the will of their families except in accordance with the law.
7. Male and female children shall have equal rights to inheritance.
8. The rights in this section shall not be exercised in a manner inconsistent with any provisions of the constitution.

2. THE LANGUAGE OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION – The 1999 constitution is written in a language that makes it difficult for many citizens, particularly non-lawyers, to understand. We recommend that the language of the new constitution should be in a simple language that everyone will understand. 

3. INDEPENDENT COMMISSIONS – The 1999 constitution makes provision for Federal Executive bodies such as Federal Character Commission, Federal Civil Service Commission, Federal Judicial Service Commission, Police Service Commission etc.

These bodies are dependent on the Executive for appointment, direction and funding. There is the need for constitutionally entrenched independent commissions independent of the executive. The funding of such commissions should be from the consolidated fund. The appointment of the members should be subjected to an approval mechanism that is open and transparent.

In light of the above, we recommend the following independent commissions:

1. Independent National Electoral Commission 
2. Gender and social justice commission
3. National Judicial and Administration of Justice Commission
4. Anti Corruption and Public Accountability Commission
5. National Human Rights Commission
6. Office of the Public Defender
7. Independent Mass Media Commission
8. National Orientation and Mobilization Commission
9. National Population Commission



Recommendation

(a) Section 65 (2) & 156 (1) (a) which provide that members of independent commission like INEC should belong to political parties should be removed.
(b) No members of an independent commission especially INEC should belong to a political party.
(c) Members of the INEC should not be eligible to contest for any political office until four years after ceasing to be in that office.
(d) Members of the commission should be persons of proven integrity who should be drawn from all walks of life 
(e) The process of appointment of members of independent commissions should be competitive, open and transparent. 
(f) Removal of members of the commission can only be affected upon 2/3 majority of senators giving their consent.
(g) Salaries and allowance of members of the commission should be charged to the consolidated Revenue fund
(h) The president should play the ultimate role of appointing members of independent commission. However the citizens of the country should participates in the selection process which will give them the opportunity of nominating persons of probity and integrity who are also qualified to be appointed into such commissions.

Functions of INEC
Section 14 (2) (b) to the 3rd schedule should read as follows:
“(b) register political parties for administrative purposes only provided the parties furnish the following items.
--Party constitution
--Party manifesto 
--Names of members of NEC of the party reflecting gender balance.

Paragraph (c) Should be amended to remove the phrase “including their finances”
Section 221-229 should be amended to reflect the suggestion that members of the commission should be non- partisan.

Anti- Corruption & Public Accountability Commission
All the functions and powers of the Code of Conduct Commission should be inherited by the ACPAC. Accountability should be conceived not only in the narrow sense of financial probity. It should also include the behavioural conduct of public officials.

The commission should also carry out any duty or functions as may be conferred upon it by the enabling law (Independent Anti- Corruption Commission).

National Human Rights Commission
The following provision should be enacted in the constitution. That shall be a National Human Rights Commission which shall have the mandate to promote, protect, monitor and assess the observance of and respect for human rights; to develop an awareness of human rights among all the peoples of Nigeria; to make recommendations to organs of state at all levels of government where it considers such actions advisable for the adoption of progressive measures for the promotion and protection of human rights within the framework of the law and the constitution; to undertake such studies for report on or relating to fundamental human rights as it considers advisable in the performance of its functions under the enabling law, to request any organ of state to supply it with information on any legislative or executive measure adopted by it relating to fundamental human rights, and to investigate any alleged violation of fundamental human rights and to assist any person adversely affected thereby to secure redress. 

Office of the Public Defender
There shall be in the constitution the office of the Public Defender which shall perform the following functions
(1) Promote and protect citizens against administrative injustices and abuses.
(2) Investigate all allegations of misconduct and impeachable offences against executive particularly those who are protected by immunity. The OPD upon affidavits filed at the supreme court showing reasonable cause that an executive has committed impeachable offence should be empowered to cancel the immunity.
(3) Perform any other function as may be prescribed by the National Assembly. The office should also inherit and discharge the functions of the public complaints commission as contained in the latter’s enabling law .

Independent Mass Media Commission
There shall be an IMMC, which shall perform the functions and exercise the provisions of the existing enabling law of the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission and the Nigeria Press Council.

National Orientation and Mobilization Commission
This should performed the functions and exercise the powers of the existing enabling law of the National Orientation Agency (NOA)
- The commission should not propagate the ideals and programmes of the government of the day.
- The commission should inculcate civic duties, patriotism and nationalism. 

Gender and Social Justice Commission
There shall be a gender and social justice commission to ensure gender equity and social justice.



Functions:

- Promote gender equity and ensure the establishment of social justice in all spheres of life
- Ensure that all discriminatory laws, policies and practices that are in conflict with basic principles of equality and social justice should be repealed.
- Monitor the observance of social and economic rights.
- Monitor all appointments to ensure that they reflect the principle of federal character or gender balance 
- Monitor the implementation of social and economic rights


4. CITIZENSHIP AND RESIDENCY RIGHTS – The 1979 Constitution introduced the concept of indigeneity into Nigerian public law. It stated that the indigeneity of a state is conferred on a person whose parents or grandparents was a member of a community indigenous to a particular state. Section 147 of the 1999 constitution provides that the president shall appoint at least one Minister from each state who shall be an indigene of such a state. (The 1999 constitution does not define who an indigene is). People have argued that the elite manipulate the concept of indigeneity for selfish ends. There has therefore been a strong argument for establishing citizenship based on residency. There has been various suggestions on how this issue should be addressed. Meanwhile, the problem of indigeneity has caused a lot of problems in Nigeria. Following the creation of new states, people were asked to leave the state where they have been working for years because they are non-indigenes e.g. Anambra, Enugu states, Plateau, Nasarawa states etc. Women who are married to men from another state suffer worse dilemma as they can neither lay claim to the state of their parents nor that of their husbands. Children born to non-indigenes face discrimination in admissions into schools or in payment of higher amount of money in school fees. There is therefore the need for provisions on citizenship that is all inclusive and foster national unity and integration. The Citizens Forum believes that when you live in a place and perform your civic duties including paying taxes, you should be entitled to the rights and privileges of persons of that area based on residency.

We recommend

· Section 25 (1) © which provides that “every person born outside Nigeria either of whose parents is a citizen of Nigeria” should be amended to include grandparents.
· Section 26 (2) (a) should be amended to give foreign men and women married to Nigerian citizens the opportunity to acquire citizenship.
· Section 147 (3) remove proviso “who……
· There should be a new section after S 31 e.g S 32 titled Residency Rights. The new section should provide that a Nigerian citizen who has resided continuously for a period of five years in any state of the federation and performs her/his civic duties including paying taxes, shall be entitled to all the rights and privileges of the state .
· A married woman shall also be deemed to belong to the state or be part of her husband’s state.
· Nothing in the above section shall be deemed to allow any Nigeria to claim rights and privileges of more than one state or part for the purpose of any given privilege or rights whatsoever. 

5. FEDERALISM – The Forum believes that the federal system of government is ideal for Nigeria because of its multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious nature.

There are certain minimum standards, which all federal systems must adhere to. They include the sanctity and supremacy of the written constitution which cannot be unilaterally amended by either level of government; the non-subordination of one level of government to the other; the direct operation of all levels of government upon the citizens; the independence of the judiciary and relative fiscal autonomy.

In Nigeria, there is over concentration of powers at the Federal level. The structure is weighed very heavily in favour of the federal government with the attendant distortion of the concept of true federalism. States cannot appoint their own judges. The exclusive legislative list contains items that cannot be justifiably regarded as exclusive matters e.g. marriages and tourist traffic. Indeed, the 1999 constitution violates most of the principles and minimum standards of any Federal system.

The Forum suggests the following amendments to the 1999 constitution:

ð The functions of local governments and states should be expanded. The local government for instance should be responsible for primary education.
ð We should revert to the 1979 provision on the appointment of the Chief Judge of a state and the Judges of High Courts. The proper body to advise the State Governor who will then submit the name to the House of Assembly is the State Judicial Service Committee and not the National Judicial Council.
ð The exclusive Jurisdiction of the Federal High court should be reverted to its original concept of matters affecting federal revenue. State High Courts should be given unlimited jurisdiction as in the 1979 constitution and recognised by section 46 of the 1999 constitution
ð The composition, function and power of the State Independent Electoral Commission in section 197 and part 2 of the third schedule should be amended so that it will be similar to that of the Federal Independent Electoral Commission. The implication of the provision of section 200 of the 1999 constitution which states that members of the State Independent Electoral Commissions should have the same qualifications as a member of a House of Assembly means that members must belong to political parties
ð Section 14 which provides that the composition of government of the Federation or a State or Local government in the conduct of its affairs should be carried out to reflect federal character in the case of Federal Government and diversity of peoples in States and Local Governments should be made justiciable. Subsection 5 should be added to section 14 to give 30 percent proportional representation to women.
ð The National Assembly should make laws that guarantee the autonomy of local governments and the tenure of chairpersons and councilors.
ð The operational content of Boards and commissions (Federal and State) as specified in the constitution should be deleted and made the subject of Acts and Laws.
ð Section 315 should be deleted. The National Assembly should have the responsibility to modify laws to be in line with the constitution.
ð Section 55 should be amended by deleting Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa Language. The new provision should be that the business of the National Assembly shall be conducted in English and in any Nigerian Language when adequate arrangements have been made
ð The National Population Act should be amended to delete the function of registration of births and deaths, which is a constitutional responsibility of the local government.


6. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS:- The 1999 constitution provides for social and economic rights in sections 13 – 24 (chapter two). These include the right to engage in economic activities, maximum welfare and happiness, suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, unemployment and sick benefits, welfare of the disabled, adequate medical and health facilities and free education at all levels including free adult literacy programme. But the provisions are not justiciable This means that one cannot go to the court to claim damages for breach of the provisions. It has been argued that the 1999 constitution is not a product of the popular will of the people and the provisions on social and economic rights do not meet the aspirations of the people. Meanwhile, these rights are necessary for people to live a meaningful live and enjoy the fundamental human rights that are guaranteed by chapter four. It is clear that government has a responsibility to take steps to utilize to the maximum of its available resources to achieve progressively the full realisation of social and economic rights. It has been recognised that there are three layers of obligations in matters of social and economic rights: obligations to respect, protect and fulfil. The obligation to respect requires states to refrain from interfering with social and economic rights e.g. refrain from forced eviction. The obligation to protect requires states to prevent violations by third parties e.g. ensure that private employers comply with labour standards. The obligation to fulfil requires states to take appropriate legislative, administrative, budgetary, judicial and other measures towards the full realisation of such rights. 

We recommend that:
· An Independent Commission for Gender and Social Justice should be set up to monitor the implementation of social and economic rights.
· The president should present an annual report to the National Assembly showing how far the right to social and economic rights has been protected.
· Additional social and economic rights should be entrenched in chapter four of the constitution and made justiciable. The rights to be included are:

(a) RIGHT TO EDUCATION

1. Every citizen shall have a right to equal educational opportunities and facilities. With a view achieving the full realisation of this right:-

(a) Universal primary and secondary education, including technical and vocational education, shall be free, compulsory and available to all.
(b) Literacy programmes and vocational studies shall be free and available to all adults.

2. Every citizen shall have equal access to higher education, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means and in particular, by progressive introduction of free higher education.
3. Every person shall have the right, to establish, maintain and direct private schools, at all levels in accordance with such conditions as may be provided by law.
4. The development of a system of schools with adequate facilities at all level shall be actively pursued.


(b) RIGHT TO ADEQUATE HOUSING
1. Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing
2. The states shall take reasonable legislative and other measures within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of the right.
3. No one shall be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished, without an order of court made after considering all the relevant circumstances. No legislation may permit arbitary evictions.

(c) RIGHT TO HEALTH

1. Everyone, on a basis of equality, has a right to the best attainable state of physical and mental health which includes the right to : 
(a) free medical consultation in government medical institutions
(b) healthcare services including reproductive health care
(c) environmental and industrial health services for the prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases.
2. No one shall denied emergency medical treatment in government medical institutions
3. Every person shall be entitled to full information about his or her medical condition
4. A person who by reason of sickness or any other cause is unable to give his consent shall not be deprived by any other person of medical treatment, education or any other social or economic benefit by reason only of religious or other beliefs.
5. The state shall take all appropriate steps, to the maximum of available resources, with a view to achieving the progressive realisation of this right. 

(d) RIGHT TO ENVIRONMENT
Every Nigeria shall have the right to a clean and healthy environment.

(e) SPOUSAL RIGHT
(1). A spouse shall not be deprived of a reasonable provision out of the estate of a spouse whether or not the spouse died having made a will.
(2). The National Assembly shall, as soon as practicable after the coming into force of this constitution, enact legislation regulating the property rights of spouses.
(3). With a view to achieving the full realisation of the rights referred to in subsection (2) of this Section
(a) spouse shall have equal access to property jointly acquired during marriage;
(b) assets which are jointly acquired during marriage shall be distributed equitably between the spouses upon dissolution of the marriage.



(f) EQUALITY OF SEXES
(1) Women shall be accorded full and equal dignity of the person with men.
(2) The State shall provide the facilities and opportunities necessary to enhance the welfare of women to enable them to realise their full potential and advancement
(3) The state shall protect women and their rights, taking into account their unique status and natural maternal functions in society
(4) Women shall have the right to equal treatment with men and that right shall include opportunities in political, economic and social activities.
(5) Without prejudice to article 42 of this Constitution, women shall have the right to affirmative action for the purpose of redressing the imbalances created by history, tradition or custom
(6) Laws, cultures or traditions which are against the dignity, welfare or interest of women or which undermine their status, are prohibited by this Constitution.

(g) RIGHT TO WORK
(1) Everyone has the right to work
(2) The right to work includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his/her living by work which he/she freely chooses to accept
(3) The State will take appropriate measures to safeguard this right


(h) RIGHT TO WORK UNDER SATISFACTORY CONDITIONS
(1) Every person has the right to work under satisfactory, safe and healthy conditions, and shall receive equal pay for equal work without distinction of any kind.

(2) Every worker shall be assured of rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periods of holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays.
(3) Every worker has a right to form or join a trade union of his choice for the promotion and protection of his economic and social interests.
(4) Restrictions shall not be placed on the exercise of the right conferred by subsection (3) of this article except restrictions prescribed by law and reasonably necessary in the interest of national security or public order or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

(i) RIGHT TO CULTURE
(1) Every person is entitled to enjoy, practice, profess, maintain and promote any culture, language, tradition or religion subject to the provisions of this Constitution.
(2) All customary practices which dehumanize or are injurious to the physical and mental well-being of a person are prohibited.

(j) RIGHT OF MOTHERS
(1) Special care shall be accorded to mothers during a reasonable period before and after child-birth; and during those periods, working mothers shall be accorded paid leave.
(2) Facilities shall be provided for the care of children below school-going age to enable women realise their full potential.
(3) Women shall be guaranteed equal rights to training and promotion without any impediments from any person.

(k) RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
(1) The National Assembly shall enact such laws as are necessary to ensure that:
(a) every child has the right to the same measure of special care, assistance and maintenance as is necessary for its development from its natural parents, except where those parents have effectively surrendered their rights and responsibilities in respect of the child in accordance with law;
(b) every child, whether or not born in wedlock, shall be entitled to reasonable provision out of the estate of its parents; 
(c) Parents undertake their rights and obligation of care, maintenance and upbringing of their children in co-operation with such institutions as the National Assembly may, by law, prescribe in such manner that in all cases the interest of the children are paramount;
(d) Children and young persons receive special protection against exposure to physical and moral hazards ; and
(e) The protection and advancement of the family as the unit of society are safeguard in promotion of the interest of children.
(2) Every child has the right to be protected from engaging in work that constitutes a threat to his health, education or development.
(3) A child shall not be subjected to torture or other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
(4) No child shall be deprived by any other person of medical treatment, education or any other social or economic benefit by reason only of religious or other beliefs
(5) For the purpose of this article, “child” means a person below the age of eighteen years.

(l) RIGHTS OF THE DISABLED
(1) Disabled person have the right to live with their families or with foster parent and to participate in social, creative or recreational activities
(2) A disabled person shall not be subjected to differential treatment in respect of his residence other than that required by his condition or by the improvement which he may derive from the treatment
(3) If the stay of a disable person in a specialized establishment is indispensable, the environment and living conditions there shall be as close as possible to those of the normal life of a person of his age.
(4) Disabled persons shall be protected against all exploitation, all regulations and treatment of a discriminatory, abuse or degrading nature.
(5) In any judicial proceedings in which a disabled person is a party, the legal procedure applied shall take his physical and mental condition into account.
(6) As far as practicable, every place to which the public has access shall have appropriate facilities for disabled persons 
(7) Special incentives shall be given to disabled persons engaged in business and also to business organisations that employ disabled persons in significant numbers.
(8) The National Assembly shall enact such laws as are necessary to ensure the enforcement of the provisions of this articles

RIGHTS OF MINORITIES
Minorities have a right to participate in decision-making processes and their views and interest shall be taken into account in the making of national plans and programmes.

7. POLITICAL PARTIES AND FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

1. It has been argued that various provisions of the 1999 constitution infringes on the right to Freedom of Association. The powers conferred on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by section 40 of the constitution completely derogates from the right to form or belong to any political party of one’s choice. Although section 40 confers the right to belong to any political party, it gives the proviso that INEC has to give recognition. The stringent conditions required for registration effectively disempowers a lot of people who may find it inconvenient or even embarrassing to belong to any of the registered parties. There are also no provisions that will allow the emergence of independent candidates. Furthermore, the unfettered discretionary powers granted the police to take life in the process of effecting a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained or for the purpose of suppressing a riot, insurrection or mutiny will gravely affect other rights. We note that the constitutional provision that require members of INEC to be political party members to be qualified for appointment is scandalous at it imposed serious question as to the independence of INEC

We recommend that:
· Independent candidates should be constitutionally empowered to stand for elections In this regard, Sections 65 (2) (b), 106 (d), 131 (c), 177 (c) &. 222, all of which prohibits the emergence of independent candidates should be deleted. 
· The registration of political parties by INEC should be for administrative purposes only. Any association that applies for registration as a political party should send the application through any of the commission’s offices accompanied by a copy of the party’s constitution and manifestos. There should be no payment of registration fees and candidates for election should not be made to pay any deposit.
· The Headquarters of political parties need not be at Abuja and neither do they need to have branches in 2/3 of the States of the Federation.
· All provisions that prohibit the confinement of activities of a political party to a geographical area should be deleted. In the same vein, the requirement that the members of the executive committee or other governing body of the political party should reflect the federal character of Nigeria should be amended to reflect such diversities as gender, ethnicity and religion. Political parties should be required to ensure that at least 30 percent of the candidates to be nominated are women. Furthermore, parties should reflect the diversities in the areas where they operate.
· Section 225 which provides that any fund sent to a political party from outside Nigeria should be paid over or transferred to INEC should be amended to provide that such amount should be disclosed to INEC and made public.
· The Commission should ascertain all claims of the party and candidates at least 180 days before the date of the election. This is to allow sufficient time for the political parties and candidates to canvass their positions among the electorate
· The proviso to S. 40 which derogates from the right to peaceful assembly should be deleted. The right to peaceful assembly should be unqualified.
· S. 33 (2) (b) & (c) which gives unfettered powers to the Police to take life for the defence of property or in order to effect an arrest or suppress a riot or mutiny should be deleted as it is prone to abuse.
· S. 221 which forbids all associations other than political party from convassing for votes or endorsing or sponsoring candidates for election should be deleted.
· SS. 156(1) (a) & 200 (1) (a)which provide that members of federal and state executives bodies, of which INEC is one, are to be members of political parties, for them to be eligible for appointment should be deleted.
· S. 225, which provides that fund sent to a political parties from outside Nigerian should be paid over to INEC should be amended to provide that such fund should be disclosed INEC and made public.
· A specific provision should be inserted into the constitution to secure the right of remand prisoners and prisoners of other categories to vote during election. This is to further the new thinking in penology that imprisonment should not be seen as an avenue to inflict societal vengeance but all opportunity to reform the derailed and absorb them back into the society as vegousable citizens.
· SS. 65 (1) (a) &b; 131 (b), 177 (b) 106 (b) providing for the age criteria for election into the office of National Assembly should be reviewed with aim of reducing the age limit to give the younger generation opportunity of leadership.
· Remand Prisoners/Prisoners and Nigerian citizens living abroad should be registered as voters and allowed to vote during elections.


8. FISCAL FEDERALISM 
It has been noted that the 1999 Constitution violates the principles of Federalism as applied to revenue allocation. In mature federal political systems, federating units have the right to control their resources. For example in the USA, the state of Alaska owns all the lands in the State currently producing oil and collects over $1.1 billion annually in royalties on production in its public land. In Canada, the provinces (states and regions) are entitled to extract a royalty payment in respect of each unit of production. In Australia, States collect royalties but not taxes. The past and present revenue sharing formula in Nigeria are bedevilled with problems. The central problem has been that developmental benefits expected from a resource – rich economy like Nigeria has not materialised. This arose from the way revenue generated from the vast resources have been utilised. Revenue allocation formulas adopted over the years have continued to generate much controversy. Specifically, geographical areas where these resources are located have not been seen to record the level of development commensurable with the level of resource. Derivation principle, which has been used since the 70s to try to transfer some of the revenue from resource exploitation to the areas, have not satisfactorily addressed the problem.

We recommend that:

· The federating units should have control and ownership of the resources in their area. They should however pay taxes to the Federal government. The rate of such taxes would need to be determined in consultation with the states. The rate may, however, not be more than 50%, considering that states would take on more spending responsibilities under true federalism The taxes so collected should go into the federation Account. Allocation from the federation Account shall be to the federal Government, Equalisation Fund, and the Local governments. Allocation from the Equalisation Fund to states shall be based on agreed criteria. These would, however, include state income shortfall from the national average income, population, and land mass and terrain. Section 44, (1) (3) should be amended to vest ownership of resources in states. 
· A section or subsection should be introduced to establish/create an Equalisation Fund, into which shall be paid states share of the Federation Account.
· At all levels of government, mechanisms must be put in place to ensure public control and accountability.
· There should be an equalisation fund, which should be distributed to all federating units on the basis of balanced development, basic need and minimum standard.
· Section 44 section 1 subsection 3 of the 1999 constitution which provides that “the entire property in and control of all minerals, mineral oils and natural gas in, under or upon any land in Nigeria or in, under or upon the territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone of Nigeria shall vest in the government of the Federation…..” should be amended so that ownership and control of all resources will be vested in the federating units.
· Section 162 should be amended so that the federating units will pay taxes to the federal government from the resources available in those areas. The derivation principle will no longer apply since the units will have total control and ownership of the resources.
· Section 315, 5 (d) relating to the Land Use Act should be reformed to guarantee access of people to land and adequate compensation.
· Section 163 (a) should be amended to specifically recognise state responsibility for collection and retention of value added tax.
· Item 39 and 59 in the Exclusive Legislative List should be place on the concurrent list to reflect the suggestions above. 

9. ACCESS TO JUSTICE AND THE RULE OF LAW

It is well established that countries which have well-entrenched and flourishing democracies have judicial systems that are free, strong, well-motivated and unbiased. It is also well known that access to justice is one of the most serious problems confronting citizens of Nigeria. Meanwhile, the obstacles or impediments to a citizen’s access to justice in Nigeria include ignorance of the populace, poverty, corruption and bad or non-existent infrastructure for the administration of justice. It has been argued that provisions in the 1999 constitution concerning the composition and powers of the National Judicial Council violates the principles of federalism, fair representation, equity and democracy. For instance, of the 21 members of the National Judicial Council, 17 of them are appointed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria. Meanwhile, the council controls the appointment, removal from office, discipline and control of all monies both in the Federal and State judiciaries.

Meanwhile there is the need for:
a. Attainment of a strong, virile, independent Judiciary that represents the last hope for the common man and woman.
b. A self-accounting Judiciary will contribute to judiciary independence.
c. True federalism to be exhibited in the Judiciary rather than unitarism which negates the federalism 
d. Address the Sharia law crisis

We recommend that :

• Section 10 which provides that the government of the federation or of a state shall not adopt any religion as state religion should be strengthened. The constitution should state clearly that customary and religious courts must not have criminal penal jurisdiction. They should be limited to civil jurisdiction. Accordingly, section 277, subsection 1 should be deleted and substituted with The sharia Court of appeal of a state shall exercise appellate and supervisory jurisdiction in civil proceedings involving questions of islamic law. Also a proviso should be added to section 6, subsection 4(a) that customary or sharia courts established pursuant to this subsection shall not exercise criminal jurisdiction.
  

• Sections 20-22 of the third schedule concerning the composition and powers of the national judicial council should be amended. These sections give the composition and powers of the National Judicial Council. The composition is too restrictive and the powers too wide and inconsistent with the principles of federalism. The powers to appoint and discipline judges and collect and distribute funds should be deleted. Rather, it should only perform broad policy formulation roles. It should be restructured to function as a parliament made up of both Federal and State judicial officers on the basis of equity.
  

Accordingly, Section 20 should be amended so that the council shall comprise the following members:
1. Chief Justice of Nigeria (NJN) who is the chairperson.
2. One other justice of the Supreme Court who is elected by his or her colleagues.
3. The president of the court of Appeal.
4. One other Justice of the court of Appeal elected by his or her colleagues.
5. All thirty-eight chief Justices in the country.
6. One other judge from each of thirty-eight High courts elected by their colleagues.
7. Three presidents of the Customary Courts of Appeal taking geographical spread into consideration elected by the presidents of the Customary Courts of Appeal.
8. Three Grand Khadis of the Sharia Court of Appeal taking geographical spread into consideration elected by the Grand Khadis of the Sharia Court of Appeal.
9. One NBA member nominated by the bar.
10. Two retired judges appointed by the CJN

All members will have five years tenure. Meetings will be held every quarter. The deputy chairperson will be elected by the body. Also, Section 21 should be amended so that the powers of the council shall be:
a. Advise the president and Governors on any matters pertaining to the judiciary as may be referred to the council by the president or the Governors.
b. Appoint, dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over staff of the Council and disburse all monies, capital and recurrent, for the service of the council.
c. Deal with all other matters relating to broad issues of policy and administration.

• The functions of recommending Judicial officers for appointment should be performed by the federal J.S.C or state J.S.C as the case may be and not the National Judicial Council. Consequently, the National Judicial Council in sections 231 (1), 231 (2), 231 (5), 238 (1), 238 (2) 238 (5), 250(1), 250 (2), 256 (1), 256 (2), 256 (5) 261 (1), 261 (3a&b), 266 (1), 266 (3a&b), 266 (5) should be replaced by the federal judicial service commission. In the same vein, the National Judicial Council in sections 271 (1), 271 (2) 271 (5), 276 (1), 276 (2) 276 (3a&b), 276 (5), 281 (1), 281(2), 281 (3a&b), 281 (5) should be replaced by the State Judicial Service Commission. Moreover, the federal high court is not well spread and will deny access to justice when it excludes the jurisdiction of the state high court in many areas.

• Section 251 of the constitution dealing with jurisdiction of the federal high court should be amended. The phrase “Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this constitution” in section 251 (1) should be deleted. Also section 251 (1)(d) (e) (f) (g) (j), (n), (o), (p), (q), (r), (s) and (x) should be deleted. These sections contain items such as operation of companies, bankruptcy and weight and measures that State High Courts should have co-ordinate jurisdiction. Moreover, the Federal High courts are not well spread and will deny access to justice when it excludes the jurisdiction of state High Courts in many areas. Also, sections 251 (1) (s) and 252 (2) should be deleted because they have been taken care of in section 251.

• Sections 236 which gives power to the CJN to make rules for regulating the practice and procedure of the Supreme Court; section 248 which gives the president of the Court of Appeal the power to make rules for regulating the practice and procedure of the Court of Appeal; Section 254 which gives the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court the power to make rules for regulating the practice and procedure of the Federal High Court; Section 259 which gives the Chief Judge of the High Court of the FCT Abuja the power to make rules for regulating the practice and procedure of the High court of the FCT, Abuja; Section 264 (Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal), Section 269 (president of the customary Court of Appeal), Section 274 (Chief judge of a state) Section 279 (Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of a state) Section 284 (President, Customary Court of Appeal of the state) should be amended. The rules for regulating the practice and procedure of the Courts shall be in accordance with enabling laws.

• Section 291 should be amended to read any judicial officer appointed to the courts under this constitution should cease to hold office when he or she attains the age of seventy years. Sections 291 subsection 2-4 should be deleted.

•  Section 285 dealing with election petition should be deleted. Election petition issues should be addressed in the electoral law.

•  The judiciary should draw their funds from the consolidated revenue fund. The funds should be managed directly by the judiciary. The approval of funds for the Federal Judiciary should be done by the National Assembly while that for the State Judiciary should be done by the State Houses of Assembly. A mechanism should be put in place to ensure that disbursement is not dependent on the whims and caprices of the executive.

• The judiciary should prepare its budget, defend it and the fund released directly to the judiciary. The executive shall release all funds to the judiciary as approved by the legislature.

• The Chief Justice of Nigeria and State Chief Judges should be elected by their peers for a single term of 5 years without the possibility of renewal of tenure.
  
  
  10. SECURITY SECTOR
  
  The Forum observes that :
  

1. The task of creating and maintaining a viable and legitimate state that is accessible, efficient, accountable, transparent and equitable has been one of the most critical and complicated challenges of the transformation process that African countries are currently undergoing.

2. The transitions to democracy in the last decade have presented African countries with the twin challenge of establishing effective and accountable security agencies on the one hand and establishing effective civilian oversight of the armed forces and security agencies on the other hand.

3. The “pacted” nature of transition from military to civilian rule has made security sector transformation difficult in Africa.

4. It is commendable that there are policy prescriptions and security sector reform by the Obasanjo regime. However, the reform does not involve the civil society and the process of the reform is not institutionalized.

The Forum recommends the following amendments:

1. Section 1, subsection 2 which provides that no person (s) shall take control of the government of Nigeria excerpt in accordance with the provision of the constitution should be strengthened. It should be inserted into the constitution that the constitution shall not lose its force and effect even when its observance is interrupted by a government established by force of arms or any unconstitutional means and as soon as the people recover their liberty, its observance shall be re-established and all persons who have taken part in any rebellion or other activity which resulted in the interruption of the observance shall be tried in accordance with the constitution. The constitution should also empower the citizens of Nigeria to resist any person(s) seeking to overthrow the existing constitutional order and any person who is punished for resisting an illegal government shall on restoration of the Constitution be paid compensation or if he/she is killed in the process his/her estate shall be adequately compensated form the consolidated revenue fund of the federation

2. Sections 11 and 305, which provide for emergency powers should be amended. The constitution should provide that state of emergency may be declared only when the life of the nation is threatened by war, invasion, general insurrection, disorder, natural disaster or other public emergency; and the declaration is necessary to restore order and peace. The president should be empowered to issue a proclamation of a state of emergency only after a resolution of senate. The declaration will be effective only prospectively and should not last more than 21 days. It can only be extended to a maximum of three months by a resolution of the National Assembly.

3. Section 12 which provides that no treaty shall have the force of law until it is enacted into law by the National Assembly should be amended so that no treaty shall be entered into except with the approval of the National Assembly. However, any treaty entered into should have automatic force of law.

4. Section 214 should be amended to change the name of the Nigeria Police Force to Nigeria Police Service. The Nigerian Police Service should be structured to serve the citizens of Nigeria. The service should function in the national, state and local spheres of government.

5. The militarised language of section 217-219 should be amended by using more temperate words. Section 220 which provides for compulsory military service should be expunged from the constitution.

6. Section 315 subsection 5 which provides that the provisions of the National Securities Act, the National Youth Services Corps Decree 1993, the Public Complaints Commission Act and the Land Use Act shall continue to apply and have full effect in accordance with their tenor should be expunged from the constitution.

7. The composition of various security sector federal executive bodies provided for in the Third Schedule part 1 of the constitution should be amended:

a. Subsection 16 (h) should be amended to include the chairpersons of the Defence Committee of the National Assembly as members of the National Defence Council.

b. Subsection 25 (i) should be amended to include the chairpersons of Defence Committee, Intelligence Committee and Police Committee of the National Assembly as members of the National Security Council.

c. The membership of the National security committee should be expanded to include an Inspector of the Intelligence services who shall monitor the activities of the services to ensure that they comply with the constitution and other laws.

d. There should be a provision ensuring the equipment and maintenance of the police service as it is for armed forces in section 217 (2) 

e. There should be a provision ensuring that the Inspector General of Police reports the activities of the service to the National Assembly. The Assembly shall also have power to write the Inspector General of police to explain the activities of his men and women 

f. Subsection 27 (a) should be amended so that the president will not be the chairman of the Nigeria Police Council but the president’s appointee subject to confirmation by senate.

g. Subsection 27 (b) should be amended so that the governors of the states are not members but their representatives subject to confirmation by the state houses of assembly.

h. Subsection 27 (e) should be added so that the chairpersons of the police committee of the National Assembly will be members of the Nigeria police council.

CONCLUSION

We appeal to the Committee to look at these recommendations dispassionately. The Citizens’ Forum will continue its work particularly its outreach programme and the national scientific survey. When we conclude our work with the production of an alternative model constitution, we shall present copies to the National Assembly for your consideration.