Special Status Of FCT And The Legitimacy Of National Political Leadership

 By Erasmus Morah 

“To unravel the ‘and FCT’ conundrum, one must know what the Nigerian military general founding fathers of the 1999 Constitution had in mind when they decided in 1976 to build a new capital city on virgin land and set it up as a special federal capital territory.” 

Introduction 

ON Saturday, February 25, 2023, Nigeria conducted nationwide elections for the position of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The electoral process was widely regarded as the most fiercely contested in the nation’s delicate democratic history, setting it apart from previous elections. On March 1, 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared the candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, as the winner of the elections and the President-elect. The official swearing-in of the President-elect took place on May 29, 2023, and Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office as the 16th President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

You Cannot Swear-In A President Twice

 By Obi Nwakanma

“If you do not know where to put your hand, rest it on the knee” – Igbo proverb.

The inauguration of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria into office is a pretty serious constitutional event. It transfers power definitively to an individual who is then expected to embody the moral, philosophical, visionary, and constitutional ideals of the nation, and direct the executive function of state. The Constitution establishes the power of Nigeria in three institutions of state: the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, and the President. The National Assembly makes the laws.

The Supreme Court interprets those laws, including the permanent laws established by the Constitution. The President, as the Head of the executive branch of the three arms, executes the laws. These three powers together make up the Federal Government. They operate separately, and each is granted the power to oversee the other in order to create a balance of power, and prevent the misuse of authority. For instance, the National Assembly, which is actually the most powerful institution of state in a democratic republic, controls the Treasury of Nigeria, by law. Not the President.