- The House of Representatives disassociated itself from a draft bill on social media proposing a return to regional government
- The bill, authored by Dr. Akin Fapohunda, aims to establish a new governance model and is not officially before the House
The House of Representatives has distanced itself from a draft bill trending on social media that proposes a return to the regional system of government.
The draft, 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,” aims to establish new extant laws, which would be cited as “The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria New Governance Model for Nigeria Act 2024.”
Authored by Dr. Akin Fapohunda, who is not a member of either the Senate or the House of Representatives, the draft is identified as a private bill. Dr. Fapohunda, a retired public servant and director in the Presidency, holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Science and is currently involved in Information and Communication Technology. He stated that his experience in constitution drafting inspired him to create this draft to prompt discussions about reverting to regional governance, reflecting Nigeria’s historical governance model at independence.
Dismissing the draft bill in a telephone conversation with our correspondent, House spokesman Akin Rotimi said, “The Committees on Rules and Business and Constitution Review have confirmed that there is no such bill before them.”
Similarly, Francis Waive, chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, told PUNCH Online that the bill is not before the committee.
He said, “There are two routes to making presentations for constitutional amendments. One is by members proposing an amendment bill during the plenary. The second is by memoranda from individuals and groups to the Constitution Review Committee.
“Please, note that memoranda submitted should eventually come through bills sponsored by a committee member.
I doubt this memo (draft bill) under reference has come before the Rules and Business Committee for listing. I speak as chairman of the committee.”
Dr. Fapohunda explained his motive, stating that the President recently revived Nigeria’s old national anthem, which inspired him to propose a return to the regional system of governance prevalent at independence. He plans to present the preliminary draft to his representative in the House of Representatives, hoping that both senators and House members will support the proposal, leading to a more formal drafting of the bill if it gains acceptance.