FEDERALSYSTEM OFGOVERNMENT

Thecount ry,Nigeria,isknownasaFeder alRepubl ic, i

tisthePr esidentt hatexer ciset he
execut i
v epower .Thepr esidenti snotonl ytheheadofst ate, hei sal sot heheadofgov ernment ,
andi nchar geoft hemul t
i-partysy stem.Ni ger i
anpol it
icsrev ol vear oundaf ramewor kofa
federal,pr esidential,andr epr esent ativedemocr ati
cr epubl ic.Theexecut i
vepoweri sexer ci
seby
thegov er nment .TheLegi slativepoweri sexer cisebyt he.Ni ger ianNat i
onal Assembl y,whi chis
madeupoft wochamber s: theHouseofRepr esent at i
vesandal sotheSenat e.Theset wo
chamber sconst it
ut ethel aw- maki ngar m ofgov ernmenti nNi ger i
a,andi ti
sal sor efer redt oas
theNat ional Assembl y.ReadAl so: TheRol eofPubl icPr otestonGov ernmentPol iciesFunct i
ons
oftheFeder alGov ernmentofThFeder alGov ernmentofNi ger i
a–Phot oSour ce: https: /
/
www. alamy .
com Thest atutoryr esponsi bil
ityoft heNat i
onal Assembl yistoser veasacheckon
theot herar m ofgov ernment ,exampl e,theexecut i
v ear m ofgov ernment .Thej udiciar ymadeup
oneoft het hreear msofgov er nmenti nNi geria,butt heSupr emeCour tofNi ger i
ai st hehi ghest,
andwasest abli
shedi mmedi at elyaf terNiger i
a.gai nedheri ndependence.TheNi gerianFeder al
Gov ernmenti spr acticingBar ondeMont esqui eu’st heory ,
whi chhast odowi t
ht hesepar ationof
power s, whi chisi nline.wi tht heUni tedSt atesofAmer i
ca’ssy stem ofgov ernment .The
doctrineofchecksandbal ancesi sal sopr acticedbyt heNi ger i
anFeder alGover nment .

Funct
ionsoft
heNi
ger
ianFeder
al

Gover
nment:ThefederalgovernmentofNi geri
aissaddledwi
thnumerousr
esponsibili
ti
es.
Whenthecountr
ygainedi ndependencein1960, t
herewasmucht odotomeetthey earni
ngof
t
hepeople.However,i
nthisarti
cle,Iam goingtoexpl
ainagoodnumberofthefunctionsofthe
Ni
geri
anFederalGovernment .

1.
Feder
alGov
ernmentMai
ntai
nsLawandOr
der

Iti
soneoft hemosti mportantresponsibil
ityoftheNi geri
anf ederalgov er
nmentt omakesur e
that,
theNigeri
anfederati
oni skeptint
actbyensur ingt hat,l
awandor derar emai nt
ained.I
tis
suchdutyont hepartoftheNi geri
anfederal governmentt hatbringaboutpeaceandt r
anquil
l
ity
i
nt henati
on.Inachi
ev i
ngthisnobl egoal,thepolice,thear medf orces, andalsothecour tofl
aw,
haveswungi ntoact
ionwi t
hav i
ewt oprotectther ightsandl iberti
esofNi geri
anci t
izensandits
resi
dentswithi
nthecount r
y.Indivi
duals’conductsandbehav iourslivi
ngt ogetherandwi t
hinthe
Nigeri
ansocietyhav
ebeenr egulatedi
nor derfort hem t oconf or
mt othelaiddownr ul
esand
regul
ati
ons,evenast hoseviolati
ngthelawsar epuni shed.ReadAl so:10Pr oblemsoft heRule
ofLawi nNigeri
a

2.TheNi
ger
ianFeder
alGov
ernment

ProtectsLi
vesandPr oper
tiesAnot herfuncti
onoft heNigerianfederal.governmentwast o
makesur ethat,t
hel i
vesofi t
sciti
zenr yandtheirproperti
esar eprotected.TheNi geri
anfederal
gov er
nmentpr ot
ectionofitscit
izenrycov er
sthosel i
vingwi t
hinthecount ryandt hoseli
ving
outsidethecountry.Andthisfunctionoft heNigeri
anf ederalgovernmenthaspr ovidedNiger
ian
cit
izenstoenjoyri
ghtt oli
feandt oal soownpr operti
esanduset hesepr operti
es.Thisaspectof
the.Nigeri
anfederalgovernmentf unctionisveryimpor t
ant,sinceitwillsaf
eguar dNiger
ian
ci
ti
zensf
rom anyt
hreatt
oli
fe.

3.TheNi
ger
ianFeder
alGov
ernmentPr
omot
esDemocr
acyandSoci
alJust
ice

Democr acyisreputedtobet hebestf orm ofgov er

nment ,si
ncet hesy stem encouragedpoliti
cal
i
nclusivenessandpar t
ici
patorygovernance.Inot herwords, democr acyisthegov ernmentoft he
people,bythepeopleandf orthepeopl e,accordingtoAbraham Li ncoln.Andi ti
sasy st
em that
promot essocial
justi
ce.Goingbyt hi
s, i
thasbeent hefuncti
onoft heNi geri
anf ederal
governmentt opromot ethesystem ofdemocr acy,aswellas,promot esocial j
usti
cef orthe
purposeofensui ngthat,
Nigeriancit
izensf ul
lyenjoythei
rr i
ghts,aswel lasreali
zedt hei
r
i
ndividualpotent
ial
s.

4.TheNi
ger
ianFeder
alGov
ernmentPr
ovi
desSoci
alWel
far
eSer
vices

Iti
st heresponsi
bil
it
yoft heNi ger
ianf ederalgov er
nmentt opr ov
idesocialwel f
arefori t
s
cit
izenry,andso,t
hrought heinternal
lygener atedrevenue,anumberofr esourceshav ebeen
harnessedbyt hefeder
al government ,andr evenuegottenfr om t
heser esourceshav ebeenused
toprovidesomebasi cli
fe’snecessi t
yf ortheNi geri
ancit
izens.Someoft hesebasi clif
e’s
necessityincl
ude,
roadandhospi talandpi pebor newaterandel ectr
ici
tyaswel las, educati
on
amongot heri
mpor t
antservices,sucht hatwoul dhelpimpr ovedtheliv
elihoodoft heNi geri
an.
cit
izens.ReadAlso:CostofGov ernanceI nNiger i
a

5.TheNi
ger
ianFeder
alGov
ernmentPr
omot
esEconomi
cDev
elopment

Promot i
onoft heeconomi cdev el
opmenthasr emai nedoneofthefunctionsoft heNiger
ian
federalgovernment,theref
or e,i
tistheresponsibi
li
tyoftheNigeri
anf ederalgovernmentto
ensurethat,goodf i
scalpoliciesaswellas,goodmonet ar
ypoli
ciesarepur suedf ort
hepurpose
ofpromot i
ngsoci alacti
vit
iesandeconomi cdevelopmentandgr owth.Itisincumbentont he
partoftheNi geri
anfederal governmenttoalsopur sueprogr
ammest hatwi l
ladvancethe
countryinallramifi
cati
onsf orthegoodandwel lbeingofthepeople.

6.TheNi
ger
ianFeder
alGov
ernment

Prot
ectsHumanRi ghtsHumanr i
ghtspr otecti
onisoneoft hefunct ionsoft heNi gerianfederal
government,andt histothegov ernment ,i
sapr iori
ty,
andso, whatt heNi gerianf eder al
governmentdoesi st omakesur ethatthef undament alr
ightsofev eryofitsci t
izenr yis
prot
ected.Thisisoneoft hereasons, whyt hereisanadv ocacyt hatt heNiger i
anf ederal
governmentshoul dallowt hejudi
ciarytoremai nindependenti nitsoper ati
ons, soast oCar r
y
outit
sstatutoryfunctionswi t
houtfavourorf ear,part
icul
arly,whenanyNi ger i
anci tizenattempt
tosueforthepur poseofr edress,whensomeonei nfr
ingedont heirright
s..ReadAl so:Howt o
becomePr esidentofNi geria

7.TheNi
ger
ianFeder
alGov
ernmentMai
ntai
nsExt
ernal
Rel
ati
ons

Externalr
elat
ionsi
sv eryimport
anttothegrowt
handdevel
opmentofNiger
iannat i
on,thati
s
why ,
itismandator
yf ortheNiger
ianfeder
algover
nmentt
omakesurethat,
ev eryexter
nal
rel
ati
onsar emaint
ained.Apartfr
om economicdevel
opmentandgr
owth,maintaini
nggood
ext
ernal
rel
ati
onswit
hotherf
oreigncount
rybyt heNigeri
anf eder
algover
nmentisagoodidea
andawelcomedevel
opment,si
ncesuchrelat
ionscanf osterpeacef
ulco+exi
stencebet
ween
andamongtheNiger
ianandothercount
rycit
izens.

8.TheNi
ger
ianFeder
alGov
ernmentPr
ovi
desEmpl
oymentOppor
tuni
ti
es

Oneoft hecor ef unct ionsoftheNi gerianfeder algov ernmenthasbeent opr ovi

deempl oyment
foritst eemi ngci tizens.TheNi geri
anf eder algov ernmentwi llgoaboutt hi
sbypr omot i
ngand
providingempl oy mentoppor tunit
iesf oritspeopl e.Aspar toft hiseffort,i
tisexpect edofthe
Nigerianf eder al gov ernmentt omakesur et hat,enabl i
ngenv i
ronmenti sprov i
ded,asawayof
encour agementt oi tsci t
izenr
yt oav ailthemsel vesofsuchoppor tuniti
estobet terthemsel v
es.
TheNi gerianf eder al governmentwi ll
achi evet hi
sbygi venoutsubsi dy,aswel l
as,reducingthe
excisedut yoni mpor tat
ionandcuti nt axes..ReadAl so:FunctionsofNi gerian.National
Assembl y
.Concl usion.Ni ger
ianpol it
icsr evolvedar oundaf ramewor kofaf ederal
,and
president ial
,andr epr esentati
v edemocr aticrepublic.Theexecut ive.powerasIsai dear li
eris
exercisedby .thegov ernment .
.Legi sl
at i
vepoweri sexer ci
sedbyt he.NigerianNat i
onal
Assembl y
, whichi s.madeupoft wochamber s:theHouse.ofRepr esentati
vesandal sothe
Senat e..Theset wochamber sconst it
ut edthel aw-maki ngarm ofgov ernmenti nNiger i
a,andit
i
sal sor ef
er r
edt oast heNat i
onal Assembl y.

*Li
mit
ati
onsofHumanRi
ght
s

Humanri
ght
scanber
est
ri
ctedf
ort
heov
eral
lgoodoft
heci
ti
zensandt
hecount
ryatl
argei
nthe
f
oll
owi
ngways:

1.Aci
ti
zenmaybedeni
edsomeofhi
sri
ght
sifhei
sdet
ainedbyl
aw.

2.Aci
ti
zen’
srightt
olif
emaybedeni
edi
fhei
s.condemnedt
odeat
hbyt
hel
awcour
tasar
esul
t.
ofmur
der,ar
medr obberyet
c.

3.Ri
ghtt
oli
fei
sal
sor
est
ri
ctedbyt
hel
awwhi
ch.f
orbi
dsaci
ti
zenf
rom ki
l
li
nghi
msel
forher
sel
f.

4.Ri
ghttof
airhear
ingcannotbeexer
cisedbey
ondt
hehi
ghestcour
twhi
chi
stheSupr
eme
Cour
tin.Ni
geri
a.

5.Righttopriv
ateproper
tymayber
est
ri
ctedbyt
her
ightoft
hest
atet
ocompul
sor
il
yacqui
re
pri
vate.propert
yforpubl
icuse.

6.Decl
arat
ionofdusktodawncur
fewi
nper
iodsof
.emer
gencyorchaosmayl
i
mitt
her
ightofa
ci
ti
zensuchasfreedom ofmov
ement.

7.Thepol
iceinenf
orci
ngl
awandor dercanbanpubli
cassemblyanddemonst
rat
ionswhi
chwi
l
l.
denyacit
izenhi
sri
ghttof
reedom ofassoci
ati
on.andassembl
y.

8.Aciti
zensuf
fer
ingf
rom i
nsani
tymaybedepr
ived.ofhi
sri
ght
stosaf
eguar
dther
ight
sof
other
s.
9.Thecour
tcanal
sor
est
ri
ctt
hemov
ementofa.ci
ti
zeni
fhe/
shehasaser
iouscasependi
ngi
n.
court
.

10.Ri
ghtstothefr
eedom ofexpressi
onandpr
essar
e.rest
ri
ctedbyt
helawprevent
ing
i
ndivi
dual
sfrom.sayi
ngorpublishi
ngastat
ementt
hatcoul
ddamaget heper
sonali
tyofot
her
s
(l
awsofslander
.andli
bel
).

11.Somepublicoff
icehol
derssuchasthepresi
dent
,.gover
nor,
parl
iament
arians,
ambassador
s,
j
udges.cannotbesuedwhilei
noffi
cebecausetheyenjoy
.theprot
ecti
onofthelawcal
led
‘
immunitycl
ause’.

12.Aci
ti
zenmaybedeni
edhisri
ghtsi
fheisdetai
ned.onmedi
cal
gr oundi
nor
dernott
ospr
ead.
cont
agi
ousdi
seasei
fsuchci
ti
zenissuf
fer
ing.f
rom acont
agi
ousdisease.

13.Exi
stenceofmi
l
itar
yrul
eoranunpopul
ardi
ctat
ori
algov
ernmentcanl
eadt
orest
ri
cti
onof
ci
ti
zens’ri
ghts.

DUTI
ESANDOBLI
GATI
ONSOFCI
TIZENSANS

Bel
owar
esomeoft
hedut
iesandobl
i
gat
ionsoft
heci
ti
zensi
nsoci
ety
.

1.Obedi
encet
oLawandOr der:Ci
ti
zensofastatehavetheconst
it
uti
onal
obl
i
gat
iont
oobey
thel
awsofthest
ateandensureor
derl
inessi
ntheirconduct
s.

2.PaymentofTaxes:Cit
izensowethestat
ethedut
yoft
axpay
ment
.Iti
sanof
fenceagai
nstt
he
stat
e.f
oranempl oyedci
tizent
oevadetaxpayment
.

3.VotingDuringElect
ion:Allqual
i
fiedci
tizensare.expect
edtopart
ici
pat
eint
heelecti
onof
pol
iti
calleadersatall
level
s.Thosewhor efusetov ot
e.havenori
ghttocompl
ainofbad
governance.

4.Respectfort
heRight
sofOtherCit
izens:
Theci t
izensareexpectednott
oinf
ri
ngeont
he
ri
ghtsofotherci
ti
zensi
ntheprocessofexerci
singtheirownri
ghts.

5.Repor
ti
ngsuspect
edcr
imi
nal
casest
oappr
opr
iat
eaut
hor
it
yoragency.

6.Readi
nesst
oser
veasawi
tnessi
nthecour
twhent
heneedar
ises.

7.Respectf
ornat
ional
symbol
sandnat
ional
.ant
hem .

8.I
nvol
vementi
ncommuni
tyser
vicesi
ncl
udi
ngenv
ironment
alsani
tat
ion.

9.Wi
l
li
ngness/
readi
nesst
odef
endt
henat
ionatal
lti
mes.

FEDERATI
ON(
REASONSFORADOPTI
ON)

Af
eder
ati
on/
feder
ali
sm i
sasy
stem ofgov
ernmenti
nwhi
chpower
sofgov
ernmentar
eshar
ed
betweentwolevelsofgov
ernment.Boththecentr
alandt
hecomponentuni
ts.Reasonswhy
countr
iesadoptfeder
alsyst
em ofgovernment:

1.I
tisonl
ysui
tabl
eforacount
rywi
thal
argesi
ze.

2.Toav
oidbi
gorbi
ggernat
iondomi
nat
ethem.

3.Fordef
ense,
prot
ect
ionandsecur
it
yofi
tsci
ti
zensandt
err
it
ory

4.Topr
omot
enat
ional
uni
tyoft
hedi
ff
erentgr
oupst
hatmakeupt
hecount
ry.

5.Tof
aci
l
itat
eeasyadmi
nist
rat
ionandev
endev
elopmentoft
hecomponentuni
ty.

Thecondit
ionswhi
chleadt
otheformat
ionofafeder
ati
on,
whichmayal
sober
egar
dedast
he
reasonsf
orthecr
eati
onofafeder
ati
on,incl
udethef
oll
owi
ng.

1.Desir
etoform afederalgover
nmentTheremustbeadesi r
ebyt hecommuni t
iesor
nati
onali
ti
estoform afederal
gov er
nment.Thi
sdesir
e,however
,impli
esthatthefederat
ing
groupshavetogiveupsomeoft hei
ror
igi
nalpowers,
andtheymustdoi tvol
untari
ly.

2.Desi
ref
orlocalautonomy.Thecommuniti
eswhichdesir
etoform afeder
algovernment
mustbepreparedtoretai
nsomeofthepowersprevi
ousl
yenjoy
edbyt hem.Inpract
icalt
erms,
thi
smeansthattheremustberegi
onalorst
ategover
nments,whichcanhandlel
ocal i
ssues.

3.Leader
shi
p

I
tisonethi
ngtohavethedesi
ret
of orm afeder
algover
nment;i
tisanothert
hingtohav
ethe
l
eadersorst
atesmenwhocanmobi l
izethepeoplefort
hatpur
pose..Leader
ship,
asafact
or
i
nvol
vesskil
l
sinnegot
iati
onandpropaganda.

4.Geogr
aphi
cal
Cont
igui
ty

Thecommuni ti
es,whi
chdesiretofor
m afederati
on, mustbev erylar
gei nsizeandpopulati
on.
Moreover,
thecommi mit
iesmustalsobegeogr aphical
l
ycont i
guous.Itmaybedi f
fi
cultto
sustai
nafederati
onwherethecomponentunitsar ephysical
lyseparatedfrom one.another
.
ThesecessionofBangl
adesh( f
ormerEastPakistan)from Pakistanin1971waspar t
ly
att
ri
butedtothephysi
calseparat
ionoff
ormerWestPaki stanfrom East.Pakist
anbyI ndi
a.

5.Av
ail
abi
l
ityofResour
ces

I
tisver
yexpensi
vetorunafeder
algover
nment
.Assuchthecommuni
ti
eswhi
chdesi
ret
ofor
m
afeder
ati
onmusthaveabundanthumanandmater
ial
resour
ces.

6.Si
mil
ari
tyofSoci
alandPol
i
tical
Inst
it
uti
ons
Thepol
iti
cal
andsoci ali
nst
itut
ionsoft
hegroupswhichdesi
retoform afeder
algover
nment
mustbesimil
ar.Forexample,mostofthepr
e-col
oni
alpol
iti
cal
insti
tut
ionsinNiger
iawer
ehi
ghl
y
cent
ral
i
zed.

7.Cul
tur
alDi
ff
erences

Thecommuni t
ies,whichdesi
retof
orm af
ederat
ion,
mustbediversei
nter
msoflanguage,
rel
i
gionandnational
it
y .I
nshor
t,af
eder
alsyst
em ofgov
ernmentismostsuit
abl
efora
heter
ogeneoussociet
y .

8.Desi
ref
orSecur
it
y

Af ederalgovernmentmaybef ormedbyweakst atesinordert

opr otectthemselvesfrom their
mor epower fulneighbours.Inotherwor ds,t
hefearofext ernalat
tackmaycompel t
hedi f
ferent
groupst ocomet ogether.Securi
tyanddef enceissuesdi dnotweighmuchi ntheformat i
onof
theNi ger
ianf ederat
ion,buttheAmer icancoloniesj oi
nedtheAmer icanfederati
onprimaril
y
becauset heyneededacommonact ionnotonl yt owinindependencef r
om Gr eatBri
tainbutto
preventtheirre-conquest.

9.Capaci
tyt
owor
kforFeder
alGov
ernment

Theremustbeacapacitytoworkforthesurvi
valoft
hefeder
alsyst
em ofgov
ernmenti
na
countr
y.Thesyst
em requir
escomproml seandsacri
fi
cefori
ttosur
viv
eandthepeopl
ewho
desi
reitmustbepreparedtoworkforit
.

10.For
ceofI
mit
ati
on

Manycommuni t
iesdesi
rethef
eder
alsy
stem ofgov
ernmentbecauseofi
tssuccessinthe
Uni
tedStat
es.Thesuccessoft
heAmericanf
ederat
ionobv
iousl
ymakesfederal
ism at
tract
ivet
o
ot
hercountr
ies.

11.Wr
it
tenConst
it
uti
on

Awr i
ttenconst
itut
ioni
sanessenti
alrequi
rementofafederal
government.Thegovernment
requi
resawr i
tt
enconsti
tut
ion,
whichspecifi
estherel
ati
onshi
pbetweenthecentralgover
nment
andstategovernmentsanddescr
ibesthej
urisdi
cti
onofeachlev
elofgovernment.

12.Exi
stenceofaSupr
emeCour
t

Afederalgover
nmentr equi
resaSupremeCourtwhi
chi
sempoweredtoi
nterpr
ett
he
consti
tut
ionandrest
rainthefeder
alandst
ategover
nment
sfr
om encr
oachingon,
orusur
ping
thefunct
ionsoftheother.

13.Hi
stor
icalFact
orsCommuni
ti
eswhi
chhav
ebeenpr
evi
ousadmi
nist
eredasonecount
rymay
deci
detoform afeder
ati
on.
Adv
ant
agesandDi
sadv
ant
agesof1989const
it
uti
on

Themer
it
soft
he1989Const
it
uti
onmaybesummar
izedasf
oll
ows:

1.Theprovi
sionoftheConsti
tut
iont
hatanyfracti
onarisi
ngoutofanelectoralcountshoul
dbe
roundeduptothenextwholenumber,showedthesensi t
ivi
tyofthef
ramersoft heconst
it
uti
on
tothepol
iti
calpr
oblemscreat
edbytheinter
pretat
ionoft wo-t
hir
dsof19statesi nt
he1979
presi
dent
ialel
ect
ionsandthei
rreadi
nesstoavertsimi
larproblems1nfuture.

2.Thecostofgov ernmentwasdr ast

ical
lyreducedbyt hi
sconstit
uti
on.Forexampl
e,the
numberofSenat or srepresenti
ngeachst at
ewasr educedfrom fi
vetothr
eeunderthi
s
consti
tution.Second, legisl
ator
swer epaidonl yasit
tingall
owance,apaymentmadef orthose
daystheyat tendedsi tt
ingsofthehouse.Thi swasat aci
tappli
cati
onofthepri
nci
pleof“nowor k,
nopay“ .Finall
y,thePr esidentcouldonlyappointamaxi mum ofthreeSpeci
alAdvi
sersunlike
theli
mitlessnumberhecoul dempl oyundert he1979Const i
tut
ion.Thus,pr
udencewast he
watchwor doft hi
sconst i
tuti
on.

3.TheConst i
tuti
onalsoputthel
egisl
atorsonthei
rtoesbypr
ov i
dingforasystem ofr
ecal
l.By
gi
vingtheelectorat
ethepowertorecal
l t
heirunpr
oducti
veel
ectedrepresent
ati
veswhono
l
ongerenjoyedt hei
rconf
idence,
theconstit
uti
onwasonlyestabli
shi
ngt hepri
nci
pleofvot
er
sover
eignty
.

4.I
twasagoodt hi
ngt hattheconsti
tut
ionsti
pul
atedthataspi
rant
stopubli
coff
icesshoul
d
possesscer
tai
nminimum educat i
onalqual
if
icat
ions.Lawmakersandpol
icymakersneedto
underst
andthecomplexit
yofgov er
nmentbusiness.

5.Theintr
oductionofthetwopar tysystem seemedt obeagoodr eadingofNi geria‘
spoli
tical
l
andscapewhi chhadal waysbeengr avit
atingtowar dsat wopar t
ysy stem .Towar dstheendof
theFi
rstRepublic,
forexample,allthemaj orpoliti
calparti
eshadmer gedt oformt heNigeri
an
Nati
onalAlli
ance(NNA)andt heUnitedProgr essivesGrand-Al
li
ance( UPGA).Andi ntheSecond
Republi
c,alt
hought her
ewer efiv
e( i
ncreasedl atertosix)regi
steredpar t
ies,
the, samepattern
wasdiscernibl
easitwast heNat i
onalPar tyofNi geri
a(NPN)v ersust heothers.

6.Thedeci
sionnottograntAbuj
athest
atusofast
atef
urt
herenhancedi
tsposi
ti
onast
he
symbolofNiger
ianuni
ty.

Demer
it
sof1989const
it
uti
on

I
nNi
ger
iaThedemer
it
soft
he1989Const
it
uti
oni
ncl
udedt
hef
oll
owi
ng:

1.Theconsti
tuti
oni
tselfwassti
ll
-bornasi
tfai
l
edt
ousheri
ntheThir
dRepublicduetothe
annulmentofthepr
esident
ial
electi
onshel
don12t
hJune,1993andthepol
i
ticalcr
isi
swhichi
t
tr
iggered.

2.Thecost-savi
ngmeasuresi
ntr
oducedbytheconsti
tut
ionwerehal
f-
hear
tedastheyappear
ed
tobedirect
edmai nl
yatt
helegi
slat
ivebr
anchofgovernment
.Itwasbusi
nessasusuali
nthe
execut
ivebranch.
3.Althoughtheconst i
tuti
onwassai dt obefederal,i
tgavemor epowerstothecentral
governmentthant hestategov ernments.Ther
ewer enoresidualpowersfort
hest at
e
governmentswher east hefederalgovernmentalonecoul
dmakel awsonsubjectsinthe
exclusi
veli
st, andalsohadt heupperhandi nrespectofsubject
si nt
heconcurrentl
istwher
e
federall
awpr evai
ledov erstat
elawwher et
herewasconf l
ictbetweenthetwolaws.

4.Theconst
itut
iondidnotpr
ovi
deani
nst
it
uti
onal
machi
ner
yfort
heenf
orcementoft
hef
eder
al
charact
erpr
inci
ple.

5.Theimposit
ionoftwogov er
nmentsponsor
edpol
i
tical
par
ti
eswasundemocr
ati
c.Thepeopl
e
shoul
dbeallowedfreedom ofassoci
ati
on.