A Critical Appraisal of Presidential Powers under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
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Date
2020
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
UNIMAID Journal of Private and Property Law
Abstract
On daily basis, the actions and inactions of the person serving
as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria directly
affect the overall wellbeing of the peoplein the country. This
study, therefore, examines the powers of the President, with a
view to resolving the question, whether or not the nature and
extent of the executive powers enshrined in the 1999
Constitutionare beneficial to the people as envisaged. In
addressing the subject matter, the studyadopted the doctrinal
methodologyto inquire into how executive presidency
evolved in Nigeria; the nature and extent of the executive
powers of the President; the state of security and welfare of
the people; and the real reasons why executive presidency
appears to be failing in addressing the problems facing the
country. The study contends that the President who is saddled
with too numerous functions, many of which should
ordinarily be performed by various federating units, is
overburdened and, therefore, incapable of performing those
functions diligently. Finally, the paper makes the case that'
Nigeria should be restructured in such a way that the
President would be able to concentrate on external issues,
such as foreign policy, defence, immigration, customs and
excise, etc., while the federating units control internal affairs,
such as, security, constructions of roads, primary health care,
education, etc.
Description
Keywords
Presidential powers, Constitution, Federalism, Nigeria, Restructuring