Challenges Of Constitutional Democracy And Good Governance In Nigeria.

The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) has said that for the country to have good governance and constitutional democracy, the citizenry have to be re-orientated about public office holders.

Governor Fashola made this observation on 3rd June 2010 while delivering the University of Lagos, Faculty of Law Annual Public Lecture Series titled ‘Challenges of Constitutional Democracy and Good Governance in Nigeria’.

The Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Professor Oyelowo Oyewo, said the day marks the re-opening of the public lecture series that had up to the present time been the high water mark of activities organized by the faculty each session.

Oyewo added that the faculty’s main objective was to provide a platform for the discussion of topical issues in the public domain by eminent, knowledgeable and key personalities for publication in the special editions of the faculty’s flagship journal, Nigerian Journal of Contemporary Law along with writings by other scholars on the theme of the lecture.
The Governor who was represented by his Senior Special Adviser on Tax, Mr. Ade Ipaye posited that the only way to have good governance and constitutional democracy in the country was to adequately re-orientate public office holders and the citizenry.

The governor also noted that above all, that media need re-orientation on celebrating people with ill gotten wealth from government purse.
"A re-orientation of our public officers and citizenry as well as the media is imperative for constitutional democracy and good governance. A reform system without reformed personnel is a step forward and two steps backward" he stressed.

He noted that constitutional democracy was the foundation upon which good governance rests and when the citizenry have adequate orientation on rules and regulations, they will stop putting pressure on the public officers on their personal needs.

Fashola further said that, the constitution is all about playing by the rules and that once the constitution is ignored, democracy will be sidestepped and then oligarchy will set in.
He noted that since 1999, several decrees have been re-designed and compiled into acts of the National Assembly without any attempt by the legislature or the president, as appropriate authority under Section 315, to bring them into conformity with the constitution.

“This is usually to the detriment of states whose legislature and judicial jurisdictions were most eroded during the military era”.
Fashola cited the examples of the Inland Fisheries Act, Cap 110 LFN 2004, which came to life as Decree No. 108 of 1992 which he said contradicts Item 29 in the Exclusive Legislative List of the 1999 Constitution, the Taxes and Levies (approved list of collection) Decree No. 28 of 1998, which is now compiled as an Act of the National Assembly in Cap T 2 LFN 2004.

He said the act purported to delimit the taxing powers of states and local governments by establishing an approved list of taxes as well as regulating the name in which these taxes shall be collected.
The Lagos State helmsman also stated that the irregularities on tax payments by members of the public have hardened into a culture which is now difficult to change, especially when they are beneficial to one section of the country or one tier of the government.

“The problems encountered by successive attempts to change the revenue allocation formula or to amend the constitution are indicative of the challenges we face. It now appears that only the judiciary can correct these anomalies after litigations that are bound to be costly and time consuming,” he explained.

He said that as enacted by Decree 38 of 1992, the Urban and Regional Planning Act gave overall power of planning control anywhere in Nigeria to the Federal Government.