Afenifere Chieftain Set To Hand Tinubu Bill To Revert Nigeria To Regional Government
President Bola Tinubu is set to receive a draft bill on Friday aimed at reshaping Nigeria’s governance structure by returning to a regional system.
According to Punch Newspapers, the bill was authored by Akin Fapohunda, a chieftain of the Yoruba socio-cultural association, Afenifere.
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 bill aims to overhaul the current federal structure.
According to Fapohunda, this legislation, if enacted, would be cited as “The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria New Governance Model for Nigeria Act 2024.”
When the bill was brought before the House of Representatives last week, it was disowned as it was not listed for deliberation in the ongoing constitutional review process. However, this comes on the heels of 35 lawmakers in Nigeria’s House of Representatives commencing their advocacy for a single six-year term for the President while rotating the office among the country’s six geopolitical zones.
Fapohunda, who also represents the Coalition of Indigenous Ethnic Nationalities (CIEN), revealed that the proposed legislation envisions Nigeria being divided into eight geo-political regions, each with approximate interim boundaries.
These regions include:
1. Southern Region: Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, and Cross River States, with optional inclusions of the Annang, Effik, Ekoi, Ibibio, Oro, Ohaji/Egbema in Southern Imo, the Adonia, Efemia, Ijaw, Ogoni, Bini, Ishan, Isoko, Urhobo, and the Ijaw-speaking people in Northern Ondo State.
2. South Eastern Region: Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States.
3. Western Region: Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, and Ekiti States, incorporating the Yoruba-speaking people in Kogi and the Igbomina people in Kwara State. Additional options include the Itsekiri people of Delta State and Akoko-Edo people of Edo State.
4. Mid-Western Region: Edo and Delta States, possibly incorporating the Anioma people.
5. Eastern Middle Belt Region: Northern Cross River, Southern Kaduna, Southern Borno, Adamawa, Benue, Kogi, Plateau, Nasarawa, and Taraba States.
6. Western Middle Belt Region: Southern Kebbi, parts of Kwara and Niger States.
7. North Eastern Region: Parts of Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Jigawa, and Yobe States.
8. North Western Region: Kaduna, parts of Kebbi, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara States.
Before the January 1967 coup ended Nigeria’s First Republic, Nigeria operated a regional government presided over by premiers. Similar to the old pre-1967 structure, the Fapohunda bill proposes a two-tier government structure consisting of federal and regional governments. The regions would have the autonomy to manage their affairs, including the creation of sub-entities based on their respective constitutions. The new governance model would introduce regional governments with executive and legislative functions, led by a premier.
