In a significant development, a bill advocating for Nigeria's return to a regional system of government is set to be presented to President Bola Tinubu next week, according to exclusive information obtained by Elliptical News.
Last week, the House of Representatives distanced itself from the draft bill that had been widely circulated online. Officially 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," the proposed legislation aims to establish "The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria New Governance Model for Nigeria Act 2024."
The bill's preamble states: "Whereas Nigeria, its peoples, and government have been governed under Decree 24 of 1999 imposed by the then military government without the express consent of the people; and whereas the current Constitution is not autochthonous as it does not stem from the deliberations and consensus of the Nigerian people; the peoples of Nigeria now demand a change to a constitution based on a federal/regional system of government."
The bill further outlines that both federal and regional governments should operate within the new Constitution's provisions, allowing ethnic blocs within states to manage their affairs autonomously at various governance levels.
Despite the House of Representatives, through spokesman Akin Rotimi and Chairman of Rules and Business Francis Waive, denying any involvement with the draft bill, Dr. Akin Fapohunda, the bill's drafter, confirmed his plans to send the proposed law directly to President Tinubu. Fapohunda hopes the President will then present it to the National Assembly as an executive bill.
