TOPIC: CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT. IV

Lesson’s Objective: at the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

Explain the meaning of the post-1960 constitution
List the constitutions that fall into post-1960
Mention the features of post 1960 constitutions

POST-1960 CONSTITUTIONS

The post-1960 constitutions are those constitutions that were drafted by Nigerians. They are as follows

1963 Republican Constitution
1979 Presidential Constitution
1989 Presidential Constitution
1999 Presidential Constitution

1963 REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION (1st REPUBLIC)

The 1963 republican constitution was introduced to erase completely colonial rule in Nigeria. Hence, Nnamdi Azikiwe became the first ceremonial executive president of Nigeria in 1963 and Tafawa Belewa became the first prime minister.

FEATURES OF 1963 CONSTITUTION

The office of governor-general was established and replaced by the office of the president.
The judicial Privy Council in London was replaced with the Supreme Court.
The federal legislature consists of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Fundamental human right was retained.
It provided for universal adult suffrage.
It provided for the police service commission.

1979 PRESIDENTIAL CONSTITUTION

After the military coup (January 1, 1966) which lasted for 13 years. Thus, 1st October 1979, the second republican constitution was adopted.

FEATURES OF THE 1979 CONSTITUTION

It provides for a presidential system of government
The president was directly elected in a general election
It made local government the third tier of government
The tenure of the president, the governor was four years
Each of the 19-state practiced universal legislature
The chief justice of the federation was to be appointed by the president

1989 PRESIDENTIAL CONSTITUTION

The 1989 constitution was introduced to restore power back to civilian government.

Features of 1989 Constitution

It retained the Presidential system of government.
It provides for a two-party system.
Abuja (12 December, 1991) became the federal capital territory.
It provided part-time legislators.
It provides the duties and obligations of all citizens.

1999 PRESIDENTIAL CONSTITUTION

The 1999 constitution ushered in the 4th republic, hence a constitution drafting committee was set up

in accordance with Nigeria's aspirations. It came into existence on 29 May 1999.

FEATURES OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION

It upholds the supremacy of the Constitution over everyone.
It provides for a bicameral legislature at the center and unicameral for the state.
It provided for a multi-party system.
The minimum qualification to contest for any political position is a secondary school certificate.
The right to vote was limited to 18 years and above.
The country was divided into 36 federating states, 774 local governments, and a federal capital territory.
It provides for three forms of Nigerian citizens, i.e. by birth, registration and naturalization.

SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE POST-1960 CONSTITUTION

All the constitutions retained the presidential system of government, except the 1963 parliamentary system.
All the constitutions retained the federal system of government i.e., federation.
All the post-1960 constitution are indigenous, i.e. they were all written by Nigerians.
It provided for a bicameral legislature at the centre and unicameral legislature at the level.
All the constitutions were written constitutions.
Fundamental human rights were upheld in the Constitution.
The constitutions were seen as being supreme over all authorities.
It provides for the requirement of being a citizen, either by birth, registration and naturalization.

CLASS ACTIVITY

Mention the four Post-1960 Independence constitutions
Highlight four special features of the post-1960 constitution
Explain the concept of the Post-1960 constitution

TOPIC: SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION

Lesson’s Objective: At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to;

Define the Supremacy of the Constitution.
List the reasons why the Constitution is supreme.

SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION

Supremacy of the constitution simply means that the constitution is the highest and final authority in the land, which is above individual groups and institutions in a country. Hence the supremacy of the constitution is a basic feature of a democratic government.

In Nigerian, the supremacy of the 1999 constitution section 1 states that ‘This constitution is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria’. Therefore, the supremacy of the constitution allows for political stability and socio-economic progress of a country.

REASONS WHY THE CONSTITUTION IS SUPREME

The Constitution is supreme because it creates uniformity in all parts of the country.
It guarantees and assures the citizen of their fundamental human rights.
It serves as a symbol of our nationhood which differentiates us from other countries of the world.
It serves as a symbol of unity: it is a binding force on all persons in the country.
It defines the rights, duties and obligations of the citizens.
The constitution is the fundamental law where other laws derive their existence.

CLASS ACTIVITY

Explain the concept of supremacy of the constitution
Discuss four reasons why the constitution is supreme

	Created by Abundance Agu over 1 year ago

9 Civic Note on 9th Grade First Term Civic Education Notes 2024/2025 Session, created by Abundance Agu on 25/04/2025.