Senator Adeyeye’s umbrage – Facts or fiction? (III)

I bring us the concluding part of this important series and this is nothing but the concluding part of the 68 items in Nigeria’s exclusive list schedule of our 1999 constitution. I am challenging readers to read thoroughly with a view to finding items to reclassify to states. My theory is that those items are not so many – at least not as claimed. Most of the exclusive items actually belong to the federal government anywhere in the world. It is the absolutist bent of those arguing this position that the constitution is the beginning and end of Nigeria’s problems that I detest. However, all items that can be reclassified for efficiency, should. These include power, railways, prisons, police, most roads and a few others. Items such as currency, immigration, customs, defense cannot be handled by states except someone is interested in dismembering Nigeria.

11. Construction, alteration and maintenance of such roads as may be declared by the National Assembly to be Federal trunk roads.
12. Control of capital issues.
13. Copyright
14. Creation of States
15. Currency, coinage and legal tender
16. Customs and excise duties
17. Defense
18. Deportation of persons who are not citizens of Nigeria
19. Designation of securities in which trust funds may be invested.
20. Diplomatic, consular and trade representation.
21. Drugs and poisons.
22. Election to the offices of President and Vice-President or Governor and Deputy Governor and any other office to which a person may be elected under this Constitution, excluding election to a local government council or any office in such council.
23. Evidence
24. Exchange control
25. Export duties
26. External affairs
27. Extradition
28. Fingerprints identification and criminal records.
29. Fishing and fisheries other than fishing and fisheries in rivers, lakes, waterways, ponds and other inland waters within Nigeria.
30. Immigration into and emigration from Nigeria
31. Implementation of treaties relating to matters on this list
32. Incorporation, regulation and winding up of bodies corporate, other than co-operative societies, local government councils and bodies corporate established directly by any Law enacted by a House of Assembly of a State.
33. Insurance.
34. Labour, including trade unions, industrial relations; conditions, safety and welfare of Labour; industrial disputes; prescribing a national minimum wage for the Federation or any part thereof; and industrial arbitration.
35. Legal proceedings between Governments of States or between the Government of the Federation and Government of any State or any other authority or person.
36. Maritime shipping and navigation, including –

(a) shipping and navigation on tidal waters;

(b) shipping and navigation on the River Niger and its affluents and on any such other inland waterway as may be designated by the National Assembly to be an international waterway or to be an inter-State waterway;

(c) lighthouses, lightships, beacons and other provisions for the safety of shipping and navigation;

(d) such ports as may be declared by the National Assembly to be Federal ports (including the constitution and powers of port authorities for Federal ports).

37. Meteorology
38. Military (Army, Navy and Air Force) including any other branch of the armed forces of the Federation.
39. Mines and minerals, including oil fields, oil mining, geological surveys and natural gas.
40. National parks being such areas in a State as may, with the consent of the Government of that State, be designated by the National Assembly as national parks.
41. Nuclear energy
42. Passports and visas
43. Patents, trademarks, trade or business names, industrial designs and merchandise marks.
44. Pensions, gratuities and other-like benefit payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund or any other public funds of the Federation.
45. Police and other government security services established by law.
46. Posts, telegraphs and telephones
47. Powers of the National Assembly, and the privileges and immunities of its members
48. Prisons
49. Professional occupations as may be designated by the National Assembly.
50. Public debt of the Federation
51. Public holidays.
52. Public relations of the Federation
53. Public service of the Federation including the settlement of disputes between the Federation and officers of such service.

Quarantine

54. Railways
55. Regulations of political parties
56. Service and execution in a State of the civil and criminal processes, judgements, decrees, orders and other decisions of any court of law outside Nigeria or any court of law in Nigeria other than a court of law established by the House of Assembly of that State.
57. Stamp duties
58. Taxation of incomes, profits and capital gains, except as otherwise prescribed by this Constitution.
59. The establishment and regulation of authorities for the Federation or any part thereof –

(a) To promote and enforce the observance of the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles contained in this Constitution;

(b) To identify, collect, preserve or generally look after ancient and historical monuments and records and archaeological sites and remains declared by the National Assembly to be of national significance or national importance;

(c) to administer museums and libraries other than museums and libraries established by the Government of a state;

(d) To regulate tourist traffic; and

(e) To prescribe minimum standards of education at all levels.

60. The formation, annulment and dissolution of marriages other than marriages under Islamic law and Customary law including matrimonial causes relating thereto.
61. Trade and commerce, and in particular –

(a) trade and commerce between Nigeria and other countries including import of commodities into and export of commodities from Nigeria, and trade and commerce between the states;

(b) establishment of a purchasing authority with power to acquire for export or sale in world markets such agricultural produce as may be designated by the National Assembly;

(c) inspection of produce to be exported from Nigeria and the enforcement of grades and standards of quality in respect of produce so inspected;

(d) establishment of a body to prescribe and enforce standards of goods and commodities offered for sale;

(e) control of the prices of goods and commodities designated by the National Assembly as essential goods or commodities; and

(f) registration of business names.

62. Traffic on Federal trunk roads.
63. Water from such sources as may be declared by the National Assembly to be sources affecting more than one state
64. Weights and measures.
65. Wireless, broadcasting and television other than broadcasting and television provided by the Government of a state; allocation of wave-lengths for wireless, broadcasting and television transmission.
66. Any other matter with respect to which the National Assembly has power to make laws in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
67. Any matter incidental or supplementary to any matter mentioned elsewhere in this list.

I couldn’t find the 68thitem much as I tried.