THE 1989 CONSTITUTION OF NIGERIA (Pols 104)

Introduction

The 1989 Constitution of Nigeria was promulgated by the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida as part of a carefully managed transition programme intended to return Nigeria to civilian democratic rule. Unlike previous constitutions, it was not the product of a freely elected constituent assembly in the conventional sense; rather, it was largely drafted by the government-appointed Constitution Review Committee and the Constituent Assembly, before being finalised and decreed into law by the Babangida administration in 1989. The Constitution was designed to govern the Third Republic and incorporated several notable departures from the 1979 framework, most controversially the imposition of a mandatory two-party system. However, it never fully came into operation, as the transition programme it was meant to anchor was annulled alongside the June 12, 1993 presidential election, leading to the collapse of the transition process and the indefinite suspension of the Constitution.

Babangida, inspecting royal guards in London 

Key Provisions of the 1989 Constitution

1. Presidential System of Government

The 1989 Constitution retained the presidential system of government established under the 1979 Constitution. Executive authority remained vested in a directly elected President who served as both Head of State and Head of Government, with a clear separation of powers between the executive, legislature, and judiciary.

2. Federal System of Government

The Constitution maintained Nigeria's federal structure, with executive, legislative, and judicial powers distributed between the federal government and the constituent states. By the time the Constitution was promulgated, Nigeria had expanded to 21 states, following the creation of Akwa Ibom and Katsina states in 1987 under the Babangida administration.

3. Mandatory Two-Party System

One of the most distinctive and controversial features of the 1989 Constitution was its provision for a state-imposed two-party system. Rather than allowing political parties to emerge organically, the Babangida government decreed the existence of exactly two parties, both of which were created, funded, and structured by the federal government. These were the Social Democratic Party (SDP), described as "a little to the left," and the National Republican Convention (NRC), described as "a little to the right." All other political associations were proscribed. This arrangement was widely criticised as an artificial and undemocratic constraint on political pluralism, reducing genuine ideological competition and placing party structures under effective government control.

4. Local Government as a Third Tier of Government

Consistent with the 1979 Constitution, the 1989 Constitution retained the recognition of local government as a constitutionally guaranteed third tier of government. Local government councils were accorded a defined constitutional role in grassroots governance and administration, with a framework for democratically elected local government authorities.

5. Recognition of Abuja as the Federal Capital Territory

The Constitution reaffirmed Abuja's status as the Federal Capital Territory. This was particularly significant in the context of the 1989 Constitution, as the physical relocation of the federal capital from Lagos to Abuja was formally completed in December 1991 under the Babangida administration, giving practical effect to the constitutional provision.

6. Part-Time Legislature

A notable innovation in the 1989 Constitution was its provision that members of the National Assembly were to serve on a part-time basis and receive allowances rather than full salaries. This was intended to reduce the cost of governance, discourage the professionalisation of political office, and attract legislators who retained primary occupations outside of politics. The provision was a direct response to criticism of the expensive and allegedly self-serving legislature of the Second Republic under the 1979 Constitution.

7. Bicameral National Assembly

The Constitution provided for a bicameral National Assembly at the federal level, comprising the Senate as the upper chamber and the House of Representatives as the lower chamber. Both chambers were to be composed of directly elected members representing the states and federal constituencies respectively.

8. Federal Character Commission

The 1989 Constitution provided for the establishment of a Federal Character Commission, charged with enforcing the federal character principle across federal appointments, institutions, and agencies. This represented an institutional advancement on the 1979 Constitution, which had introduced the federal character principle as a guiding norm without creating a dedicated enforcement body. The Commission was intended to ensure equitable representation of Nigeria's diverse states and ethnic groups in federal governance and public life.

Conclusion

The 1989 Constitution was a product of its political moment — a controlled transition exercise designed and managed by a military government with a defined agenda for the kind of democracy it wished to produce. Its innovations, particularly the part-time legislature and the Federal Character Commission, reflected genuine attempts to improve on the weaknesses of the Second Republic. However, the imposition of a two-party system and the overarching control of the transition process by the Babangida administration fundamentally compromised the Constitution's democratic credentials. Its legacy was ultimately defined not by its provisions but by its failure — the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election, widely regarded as Nigeria's freest and fairest to that point, rendered the Constitution a symbol of frustrated democratic promise and delayed the country's return to stable civilian governance.