Draft Bill Proposing Return to Regional Governance to be Submitted to Tinubu

On Friday, President Bola Tinubu is set to receive a draft bill advocating a return to a regional governance system in Nigeria. This proposed legislation, authored by Akin Fapohunda, a prominent member of the Yoruba socio-cultural group Afenifere, is titled “A Bill for an Act to substitute the annexure to Decree 24 of 1999 with New Governance Model for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” The bill aims to establish a new governance model, to be known as “The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria New Governance Model for Nigeria Act 2024.”

Despite recent reports indicating that the House of Representatives had not listed this bill for discussion in the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution, Fapohunda confirmed that the bill would be presented to the President on Friday. He plans to publicly release the bill after a seven-day period.

Fapohunda, who also represents the Coalition of Indigenous Ethnic Nationalities (CIEN), proposes dividing Nigeria into eight geo-political regions. The southern region would include Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, and Cross Rivers States, with potential additions from nearby ethnic groups. The South Eastern region would encompass Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. The Western region would comprise Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, and Ekiti States, with possible inclusion of Yoruba-speaking communities in Kogi and Kwara States, as well as Itsekiri and Akoko-Edo communities.

Further, the Mid-Western Region would consist of Edo and Delta States, and the Eastern Middle Belt Region would include Northern Cross River, Southern Kaduna, Southern Borno, Adamawa, Benue, Kogi, Plateau, Nasarawa, and Taraba States. The Western Middle Belt Region would cover Southern Kebbi and parts of Kwara and Niger States, while the North Eastern Region would comprise parts of Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Jigawa, and Yobe States. Lastly, the North Western Region would include Kaduna, parts of Kebbi, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara States.

CIEN envisions a two-tier government system with federal and regional tiers, granting regions the autonomy to manage their affairs and create sub-entities as needed. The proposed governance model includes a new regional government framework with executive and legislative functions, downgrading current states to provinces governed by Provincial Councils, and transforming Local Government Areas into divisions for socio-economic development.

The coalition also suggests a new constitution that allows regions the freedom to create, merge, or reconfigure their sub-political units, aiming to reduce the cost of public administration significantly. It advocates for a unicameral federal legislature with members elected at the discretion of the regions and the decentralization of federal power in favor of a maximum of 10 regions. Additionally, it proposes a streamlined federal government with no more than nine ministries, drawing a comparison to the United States’ 15 Cabinet Ministers.

CIEN’s proposal includes a return to a parliamentary system with statutory rotation of leadership among the regions, emphasizing the need to dismantle structures favoring the political class and redirecting resources towards genuine development.