Local Enactments

Local enactments refer to laws made by local authorities either through primary legislation by the legislature or through subsidiary legislation. The constitution empowers the legislature to make laws in section 4 and chapter 5 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Even when an international treaty is made, it must be ratified by the national assembly according to section 12(1) of the constitution before it can have the force of law. However, once these treaties have been ratified, they will become binding as stated by the Supreme Court in Abacha v. Fawehinmi. It should be noted that while sources of primary legislation include Acts and Laws, it is not limited to these two as Decrees, Edicts and Ordinances are also sources of primary legislation.

Ordinances are laws passed by the Nigerian Central Legislature before October 1, 1954. An Act is a law which is passed by a civilian government at the national level of the legislature. A Law is passed by the state legislature of a civilian government. Laws passed by the central government during military regimes are known as Decrees while those passed by regional governments during military regimes are known as Edicts. Laws do not stop being in force simply because a republic has ended. Constitutions usually have a section which provides for the continued existence of existing laws. Section 315(1) of the constitution provides for pre-existing laws to continue to exist as if they were made by the authority that currently has the authority to make such laws. What this means is that a law made at the state level before 1999 would now operate in that state as an Act and vice versa.

The constitution as a source of law.

The constitution, in the Nigerian sense, refers to the document containing the substance of the law. It contains the rights and obligations of the people and an outline of the structure of the government. The Nigerian constitution is written and supreme. It is the grundnorm which was referred to by Hans Kelson, the norm from which all other norms gain their validity. Section 1 of the constitution shows its supreme nature when it states in subsection 1 of that section that it is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on all persons and authorities in Nigeria. Subsection 2 states that the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall have a government comprised of people who come into power as prescribed by the constitution. Subsection 3 states that any other law inconsistent with the constitution shall be void to the extent of its inconsistency. These subsections of section 1, especially subsections 1 and 3, go to show just how supreme the constitution is over every person, authority or law. In I.N.E.C. v. Musa, the Independent National Electoral Commission purported to act in accordance with its powers and set up guidelines for the registration of political parties. The court held that it was void as it was inconsistent with the provisions of the constitution.

It should be noted that the constitution is a local enactment, which may also be amended by local authorities. It is for this reason that it is treated as a local enactment as a source of law.

Primary legislation.

Legislation is the product of a deliberate and formal expression of rules of conduct made by the relevant law-making authority. It is important that it is the appropriate authority, with the appropriate authority being the National Assembly or the state houses of assembly in the case of primary legislation. These legislative powers are exercised by democratically voted representatives of the Nigerian populace, and so it is taken that their decisions are the decisions of the people they represent since authority has been vested in them. The National Assembly comprises of the Senate and the House of Representatives and it exercises powers in the exclusive legislative list set out in part 1 of the second schedule of the constitution and concurrent list set out in part 2 of the second schedule of the constitution to serve federal interests. The State Houses of Assembly exercises powers on the concurrent list or residual powers to further state interests.

There is a procedure which is to be adopted by the legislative houses when passing bills. Bills are the proposed law and may either originate from inside the house or outside the house. The procedure is contained in section 58 and 100 of the constitution for the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly respectively. There is a special procedure in section 59 for money bills.

For an Act of the National Assembly to become an Act, it must commence as a bill either in the Senate or the House of Representatives. It may begin as a private bill, introduced by a private member of any of the legislative bodies and intended to benefit the limited interest of a section of the society, or it may be a public bill intended to benefit the public at large. Any member of the house may introduce a bill which would then pass through three stages before it is passed into law. At the first stage the bill is read formally, the primary objective at this point being merely to introduce the subject of the bill to the house. The second reading and debate follow where the content and purpose are clearly defined and the merits and demerits are debated. After this, the bill is referred to a committee if needed to tie loose ends and incorporate all suggested amendments. The committee reports back to the house and this is followed by the third and final reading at which stage no further amendments may be made. For a bill to become law, it must be assented to by a simple majority of the house from which it originates and it is then sent to the other house for a similar process. The president must assent or signify that he withholds the assent within 30 days and the only way for the bill to become law after that is for the house to have a two-thirds majority. What obtains at the state level is similar to the federal level except that there is one house and it is assented to by the governor and not the president.

A money bill is defined as:

• An appropriation bill or a supplementary appropriation bill including other bill for the payment, issue or withdrawal from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or any other public fund of the federation of any money charged thereon or any alteration in the amount of such payment, issue or withdrawal; and
• A bill for the imposition of or increase in any tax, duty or fee or any reduction, withdrawal or cancellation thereof.

There are just a few points of difference in the passing of money bills from the passing of normal bills. Ordinarily, money bills go through the same process as normal bills. However, when it is passed by one house of the National Assembly and not the other within two months from the commencement of a financial year, the president of the Senate shall within two weeks thereafter arrange for and convene a meeting of the Joint Finance Committee to examine the bill with a view to resolving the differences between the two Houses. If the Joint Committee fails to resolve the difference, the bill shall be presented to a joint sitting of both houses of the National Assembly and it is sent to the president for his assent if it is passed by the joint sitting of both houses. According to Attorney-General of Bendel State v. Attorney-General of Federation and Ors., where the Joint Committee arrives at a compromise it is still subject to the assent of both houses. The same rules apply for the treatment of a president’s veto in a money bill as in an ordinary bill. The state houses of assembly have no special prescription for the passing of money bills and so it is to be passed as a normal bill.

Under the military regimes, decrees and edicts became binding once they were assented to and signed by the military head of state or state administrator. The powers of the military head of state and the matters on which he could make laws were practically unlimited while the powers of the state administrator were limited. The order of superiority of laws is as follows, in descending order of importance.

1. Constitution (Suspension and Modification Decree)
2. Decrees of the Federal Military Government
3. Unsuspended provisions of the Constitution
4. Acts of the National Assembly
5. Edicts of State Military Governments
6. Laws of the State Houses of Assem

Subsidiary legislation.

A subsidiary legislation is a type of legislation which is not made by either of the legislative houses but is made pursuant to powers conferred on the authority by statute or an enabling law. This form of legislation is inferior to primary legislation and may be repealed directly or indirectly by primary legislation. Examples of subsidiary legislation include rules of court procedure made by judicial authority, municipal by-laws made by Local Government Councils, etc. Subsidiary legislation is not allowed to go outside of what the enabling statute prescribes, and cannot be enabled by an enabling statute to do what the legislature ordinarily does not have the authority to do.