FEDERAL CHARACTER AND CONSTITUTIONALITY OF ROTATION OF ELECTIVE POLITICAL OFFICES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) makes provision for the application of the federal character principle to all political posts at every level of government in Nigeria. However, the application to political posts has been limited to appointive positions to the exclusion of elective political posts. This paper examined the applicability of the federal character principle to elective political posts and the constitutional entrenchment of rotation and argued that the federal character principle is as applicable to elective positions as it is to appointive positions. It also argued that rotation of elective political posts which is thought to be a domestic arrangement of political parties is constitutional since all posts subject to the federal character principle are sharable. The paper adopted the doctrinal methodology through analytical exposition of the Constitution, the Federal Character Commission (Establishment, Etc.) Act as well as relevant journal articles. This paper found that the selective implementation of the federal character principle in relation to political posts is unconstitutional. This paper also reveals the absence of rotational formula for elective political posts and recommended the amendment of the existing formula for the distribution of all cadres of posts to accommodate elective political posts.