Constitution Review: FG Carries Too Much Weight — El-Rufai

Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna state has argued that
devolution of powers is necessary because the current structure
overburdens the federal government with too many responsibilities
which it cannot efficiently handle.

The governor further said that the APC Committee on True
Federalism which he headed, had identified legislative
interventions that the National Assembly can more easily undertake
to achieve a truly balanced, equitable and fair federal
structure.

El-Rufai who made this known at the public hearing of the Senate
committee on the review of the 1999 constitution on Wednesday,
revealed that “we also drafted bills to alter the constitution and
amend or repeal existing legislation to achieve the overall
objective of true federalism.”

The governor who spoke in his personal capacity proposed 10
items that should be shared responsibilities between the state and
federal governments.

El-Rufai argued that “the reality of our security situation
today requires that Nigeria must strengthen its military and
security agencies. This includes decentralizing the police to
enable the states to exercise effective control in securing their
residents and communities.”

“We need to have federal, state and community police, with each
granted sufficient powers to make them effective in securing the
areas assigned to them and cooperating closely with each other’’,
he further said.

According to him, “those expressing concerns about the ability
of the states to bear the cost of policing should realize that
apart from the payment of salaries by the federal government, most
of the operational and capital costs of the Nigeria Police are
borne by state and local governments.’’

The governor argued that fear of abuse of State Police by
sub-national governments is misplaced because a constitutional or
statutory framework can be enacted to ensure federal intervention
in cases of such abuses.

El-Rufai also said that the constitution should be altered to
remove the Police Service Commission because it is an unnecessary
hindrance to effective policing in Nigeria.

“The power to hire and fire police officers should revert fully
and totally to the Inspector General of Police, under the
supervision of the National Police Council, as envisaged by the
Constitution,’’ he advocated.

The governor recommended that all ‘’mineral resources, including
oil and gas and solid minerals, in the states, which will, in turn,
pay royalties and taxes to the Federation Account.’’

“States already control land within their territories, courtesy
of the Land Use Act, which is incorporated into the Constitution by
reference,” he argued.

According to him, “one of the reasons why mining has not quite
taken off in our country is because of the dichotomy and total
disconnect between the federal institution that issues licenses for
mining and the state agencies that ultimately control not only the
land and title thereto but any approval to undertake any
development on the land.”

The governor also argued that states should be empowered to
establish, staff and run their own judiciary up to the appellate
level.

“It is an anomaly to have a National Judicial Council appointing
high court judges for states. This should be the responsibility of
State Judicial Councils.

“The remit of the National Judicial Council should be limited to
the federal high and appellate courts. The constitutional amendment
should clarify that the states can establish courts to exercise
jurisdiction at first instance, or on appeal on matters for which
the states can make laws.

“In essence, I am suggesting that judges of State High Courts,
Sharia Courts of Appeal and Customary Courts of Appeal should be
nominated by the State Judicial Council, subject to confirmation by
the House of Assembly,’’ he said.

El-Rufai further said that states should also be enabled to
establish State Courts of Appeal, similar to what we used to have
at the regional level under the 1963 Republican Constitution.

“The State Court of Appeal will entertain appeals from State
High Courts, Customary and Sharia Courts of Appeal, on matters on
which the State House of Assembly is empowered by the Constitution
to make laws.

“This arrangement will make our judicial processes faster,
encourage competition, deepen our jurisprudence and restore
citizens’ trust. It will also significantly reduce the burden on
the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” he
added.

The governor argued that each state should decide the model of
democratic local government that best suits it because Nigeria is a
federation of 36 states and the Federal Government.

“Listing the 774 Local Governments in the Constitution and
trying to establish for them direct relations with the Federal
Government violates the spirit of federalism.

“Each state should decide how many local governments it can
efficiently run and fund for better governance and delivery of
public goods.

“Each state should decide what typology of local governance fits
its historical, cultural and administrative circumstances, but the
resulting framework must be democratic, with periodic elections at
no longer than four-year intervals,” he added.

El-Rufai also said that “adopting this proposal means that the
revenue allocation formula will specify what proportion of
federation transfers is for the local governments.”

“No state government shall be allowed under any guise to take
control of local government funds, and the Constitution should
entrench safeguards and sanctions, including withholding state
funds due from the Federation Account in the event of any reported
diversions, impoundment or misappropriation,” he said.

The governor recalled that the APC Committee on True
Federalism’s recommendations are clear, not controversial and
simply conform with common sense.

“For instance, why should the Federal Government be enabled by
the Constitution to fix a national minimum wage that it can afford
but most of the states, has been unable to implement?

“For the records, Kaduna State is the first government to pay
the national minimum wage approved in 2019, with consequential
adjustments of up to 66% for most state civil servants.

“A minimum wage is certainly desirable to protect citizens from
exploitation, but it should be on the Concurrent List due to
variations in the cost of living and ability to pay,” he added.

According to him, the proposed constitutional amendment will
enable the Federal Government to legislate a minimum wage for
federal employees and those that reside and work in the FCT
only.

Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna state has argued that
devolution of powers is necessary because the current structure
overburdens the federal government with too many responsibilities
which it cannot efficiently handle.

The governor further said that the APC Committee on True
Federalism which he headed, had identified legislative
interventions that the National Assembly can more easily undertake
to achieve a truly balanced, equitable and fair federal
structure.

El-Rufai who made this known at the public hearing of the Senate
committee on the review of the 1999 constitution on Wednesday,
revealed that “we also drafted bills to alter the constitution and
amend or repeal existing legislation to achieve the overall
objective of true federalism.”

The governor who spoke in his personal capacity proposed 10
items that should be shared responsibilities between the state and
federal governments.

El-Rufai argued that “the reality of our security situation
today requires that Nigeria must strengthen its military and
security agencies. This includes decentralizing the police to
enable the states to exercise effective control in securing their
residents and communities.”

“We need to have federal, state and community police, with each
granted sufficient powers to make them effective in securing the
areas assigned to them and cooperating closely with each other’’,
he further said.

According to him, “those expressing concerns about the ability
of the states to bear the cost of policing should realize that
apart from the payment of salaries by the federal government, most
of the operational and capital costs of the Nigeria Police are
borne by state and local governments.’’

The governor argued that fear of abuse of State Police by
sub-national governments is misplaced because a constitutional or
statutory framework can be enacted to ensure federal intervention
in cases of such abuses.

El-Rufai also said that the constitution should be altered to
remove the Police Service Commission because it is an unnecessary
hindrance to effective policing in Nigeria.

“The power to hire and fire police officers should revert fully
and totally to the Inspector General of Police, under the
supervision of the National Police Council, as envisaged by the
Constitution,’’ he advocated.

The governor recommended that all ‘’mineral resources, including
oil and gas and solid minerals, in the states, which will, in turn,
pay royalties and taxes to the Federation Account.’’

“States already control land within their territories, courtesy
of the Land Use Act, which is incorporated into the Constitution by
reference,” he argued.

According to him, “one of the reasons why mining has not quite
taken off in our country is because of the dichotomy and total
disconnect between the federal institution that issues licenses for
mining and the state agencies that ultimately control not only the
land and title thereto but any approval to undertake any
development on the land.”

The governor also argued that states should be empowered to
establish, staff and run their own judiciary up to the appellate
level.

“It is an anomaly to have a National Judicial Council appointing
high court judges for states. This should be the responsibility of
State Judicial Councils.

“The remit of the National Judicial Council should be limited to
the federal high and appellate courts. The constitutional amendment
should clarify that the states can establish courts to exercise
jurisdiction at first instance, or on appeal on matters for which
the states can make laws.

“In essence, I am suggesting that judges of State High Courts,
Sharia Courts of Appeal and Customary Courts of Appeal should be
nominated by the State Judicial Council, subject to confirmation by
the House of Assembly,’’ he said.

El-Rufai further said that states should also be enabled to
establish State Courts of Appeal, similar to what we used to have
at the regional level under the 1963 Republican Constitution.

“The State Court of Appeal will entertain appeals from State
High Courts, Customary and Sharia Courts of Appeal, on matters on
which the State House of Assembly is empowered by the Constitution
to make laws.

“This arrangement will make our judicial processes faster,
encourage competition, deepen our jurisprudence and restore
citizens’ trust. It will also significantly reduce the burden on
the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” he
added.

The governor argued that each state should decide the model of
democratic local government that best suits it because Nigeria is a
federation of 36 states and the Federal Government.

“Listing the 774 Local Governments in the Constitution and
trying to establish for them direct relations with the Federal
Government violates the spirit of federalism.

“Each state should decide how many local governments it can
efficiently run and fund for better governance and delivery of
public goods.

“Each state should decide what typology of local governance fits
its historical, cultural and administrative circumstances, but the
resulting framework must be democratic, with periodic elections at
no longer than four-year intervals,” he added.

El-Rufai also said that “adopting this proposal means that the
revenue allocation formula will specify what proportion of
federation transfers is for the local governments.”

“No state government shall be allowed under any guise to take
control of local government funds, and the Constitution should
entrench safeguards and sanctions, including withholding state
funds due from the Federation Account in the event of any reported
diversions, impoundment or misappropriation,” he said.

The governor recalled that the APC Committee on True
Federalism’s recommendations are clear, not controversial and
simply conform with common sense.

“For instance, why should the Federal Government be enabled by
the Constitution to fix a national minimum wage that it can afford
but most of the states, has been unable to implement?

“For the records, Kaduna State is the first government to pay
the national minimum wage approved in 2019, with consequential
adjustments of up to 66% for most state civil servants.

“A minimum wage is certainly desirable to protect citizens from
exploitation, but it should be on the Concurrent List due to
variations in the cost of living and ability to pay,” he added.

According to him, the proposed constitutional amendment will
enable the Federal Government to legislate a minimum wage for
federal employees and those that reside and work in the FCT
only.