Jonah Patel
The Lyttleton Constitution of 1954 was enacted while Nigeria was a Crown colony of the British. It was regarded as a milestone in the constitutional history of Nigeria, paving the way for independence. The constitution was the product of the Macpherson Constitution, which was revised through constitutional conferences in 1953 and 1954. The Lyttleton Constitution aimed to address criticisms of a lack of autonomy in the regions and established a federal principle, dividing powers between the central government and the regions. It introduced direct elections, made ministers heads of departments, and provided for a bicameral legislature in the Northern and Western Assemblies, while the Eastern region had a unicameral legislature.
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Established federalism in Nigeria
The Lyttleton Constitution of 1954 was enacted while Nigeria was a Crown colony of the British. It was regarded as a milestone in the constitutional history of Nigeria, paving the way for independence and establishing the federal principle. It was the product of the Macpherson Constitution, which was revised through constitutional conferences in London and Lagos in 1953 and 1954, respectively.
The Lyttleton Constitution established federalism in Nigeria by providing for a division of power between the central government and the regions. It introduced a federal structure to the country, addressing the criticisms of the previous constitution by Nigerian nationalists, who argued for greater regional autonomy. The areas of legislative competence between the two levels of government were clearly defined in exclusive, concurrent, and residual lists. The exclusive list granted the central government control over areas such as mining, railways, customs, and foreign relations. The concurrent list allowed both the federal and regional governments to legislate, with federal law taking precedence in the event of a conflict. The residual list was meant for the regions, giving them control over matters such as education, health, and public works.
The Lyttleton Constitution also introduced direct elections into federal and regional legislatures and made ministers heads of departments. It retained the bicameral feature for the Northern and Western Assemblies and a unicameral legislature for the East. Regional governors ceased to sit in the Council of Ministers, and the post of premier was created in the regions, with regional premiers presiding over the executive councils.
Despite its contributions to establishing federalism in Nigeria, the Lyttleton Constitution had some limitations. It did not address the imbalance created by Richard's Constitution, which made the North twice as large as the entire South. It also failed to provide for a uniform electoral system in the country and retained the veto power of the Governor-General and regional governors.
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Division of powers
The Lyttleton Constitution of 1954 was enacted while Nigeria was a Crown colony of the British. It was regarded as a milestone in the constitutional history of Nigeria, paving the way for independence. The constitution was enacted to address criticisms of the previous Macpherson Constitution, which Nigerian nationalists argued did not provide regional autonomy and self-government.
The Lyttleton Constitution made Nigeria a federation, with powers divided between the central and regional governments. The central government was given control over areas such as mining, railways, customs, and foreign relations, while the regions retained control over residual matters. The constitution also introduced an exclusive power list, a concurrent list, and a residual list. The exclusive list granted the central government control over matters such as external affairs, immigration, defence, atomic energy, and foreign exchange. The concurrent list allowed both the regional and federal governments to legislate, although federal law would prevail in case of a conflict. Matters in the concurrent list included education, health, and public works. The residual list, meant for the regions, contained matters of legislative competence for the regions only.
The Lyttleton Constitution also introduced direct elections into federal and regional legislatures, and ministers were made heads of departments. The post of premier was created in the regions, and regional premiers presided over the executive councils. The constitution did not provide for a bicameral legislature in the centre and Eastern region, nor did it create the post of prime minister. The federal structure introduced by the constitution made the regions stronger than the central government, as it regionalised the public service.
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Retained bicameral feature
The Lyttleton Constitution of 1954 was enacted while Nigeria was a Crown colony of the British. It was regarded as a milestone in the constitutional history of Nigeria, paving the way for independence. The constitution was enacted to address the failures of the 1951 Macpherson Constitution, which had become unworkable by 1954 due to two major factors. Firstly, the motion for self-government in 1953 by Chief Anthony Enahoro of the Action Group party generated a crisis as Northern delegates opposed the motion, arguing that the North was unprepared for such a sudden decision. Secondly, there was criticism of the concentration of power in the central government in Lagos.
The Lyttleton Constitution retained the bicameral feature for the Northern and Western Assemblies and a unicameral legislature for the East. This was one of the efforts made to correct the weaknesses of the Macpherson Constitution, which had led to the Eastern region crisis of 1953 and threats of Northern secession. The retention of the bicameral feature in the North and West and the unicameral legislature in the East allowed for regional autonomy and addressed the criticism of power concentration in the central government.
The Lyttleton Constitution established the federal principle in Nigeria and introduced the federal structure in the country. It provided for a division of power between the central government and the regions, with exclusive, concurrent, and residual lists detailing the areas of legislative competence for each level of government. The concurrent list, for instance, included matters such as education, health, public works, insurance, and statistics, where both the regional and federal governments had the right to legislate. However, in cases of conflicting laws, the federal law prevailed over regional laws.
The Lyttleton Constitution also introduced direct elections into federal and regional legislatures and reinforced the direct election process. It established the offices of the speaker and deputy speaker and created the post of premier in the regions, with regional premiers presiding over the executive councils. The ministers in the federal executive council were drawn from the House of Representatives and participated in formulating and executing government policies. The constitution did not create the post of prime minister, and the Governor-General continued to preside over the council of ministers, with veto power alongside the regional governors.
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Governors ceased to sit in the Council of Ministers
The Lyttleton Constitution of 1954 was enacted while Nigeria was a Crown colony of the British. It was regarded as a milestone in the constitutional history of Nigeria, paving the way for independence. The constitution was enacted to address the failures of the 1951 Macpherson Constitution, which was no longer deemed workable.
The Lyttleton Constitution introduced a federal structure to Nigeria, establishing a division of powers between the central and regional governments. The central government was granted control over areas such as mining, railways, customs, and foreign relations. The regional governments were also empowered, with each region having an autonomous house.
One significant change introduced by the Lyttleton Constitution was that regional governors ceased to sit in the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers was still presided over by the Governor-General, but none of the regional governors were included in this council. Instead, the constitution created the post of premier in the regions, with regional premiers presiding over their respective executive councils.
The executive councils in each region varied in composition. In the Northern Region, the executive council consisted of three ex-officio members and thirteen ministers, eight of whom had specific responsibilities. The Eastern region had a simpler structure, with nine ministers and no ex-officio members. As for the Western region, its executive council was made up of the governor and nine ministers.
The Lyttleton Constitution's approach to the Council of Ministers and the creation of regional premiers aimed to address the criticisms of the previous Macpherson Constitution, which had been accused of lacking regional autonomy. By removing regional governors from the central Council of Ministers and establishing regional executive councils, the Lyttleton Constitution sought to grant more self-governance to the regions within the federal structure of Nigeria.
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Established the offices of speaker and deputy speaker
The Lyttleton Constitution of 1954 was enacted while Nigeria was a Crown colony of the British. It was regarded as a milestone in the constitutional history of Nigeria, paving the way for independence. The constitution was established in response to criticisms of the previous Macpherson Constitution by Nigerian nationalists, who argued that there was no autonomy in the regions and that a new constitution was necessary to grant self-governance to all parts of Nigeria.
One of the key features of the Lyttleton Constitution was its establishment of the offices of the speaker and deputy speaker. This was one of several measures that contributed to the regionalisation of public service, making the regions stronger than the central government. The constitution also introduced direct elections into federal and regional legislatures, with ministers becoming heads of departments.
The Lyttleton Constitution retained the bi-cameral feature for the Northern and Western Assemblies and a unicameral legislature for the East. It also provided for a division of power between the central government and the regions, with legislative competence in areas such as external affairs, immigration, defence, atomic energy, and customs being granted to the central government, while matters such as education, health, and public works were left to the regions.
The constitution did not, however, address the imbalance created by Richard's Constitution, which made the north twice the size of the entire south. This issue continues to be a political problem in the country to date.
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