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Difficulty: HardThe Lyttelton Constitution of 1954 and Nigerian Federalism

Prior to 1954, Nigeria operated under a quasi-federal system where regional executive authority was subordinate to the central government. Which structural reform introduced by the 1954 Lyttelton Constitution formally granted executive and administrative autonomy to the regions?

  1. The establishment of regional executive councils headed by Premiers and independent Regional Public Service CommissionsAnswer
  2. B
    The introduction of the elective principle for choosing indigenous representatives to the Legislative Council
  3. C
    The central government's retention of exclusive legislative authority over the Residual List
  4. D
    The consolidation of regional legal structures under a unified central colonial appellate tribunal

Answer

The establishment of regional executive councils headed by Premiers and independent Regional Public Service Commissions
The 1954 Lyttelton Constitution formally established true federalism in Nigeria. A central pillar of this new framework was regional executive and administrative autonomy, achieved by establishing regional cabinets led by Premiers and decentralizing the civil service through independent Regional Public Service Commissions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the constitutional shift from the 1951 Macpherson Constitution to the 1954 Lyttelton Constitution.
Identified that 1951 was quasi-federal with central control over regional executives, while 1954 marked the transition to fully autonomous regional governments.
Understanding the baseline limitation of the pre-1954 arrangement is necessary to evaluate the structural reform.
2
Examine the executive and administrative provisions introduced in 1954.
The 1954 Constitution created the office of Premier for each region, made regional ministers accountable to regional legislatures, and split the civil service into regional public services.
Executive autonomy requires both political leadership (Premiers/Cabinets) and administrative machinery (Regional Public Service Commissions).
3
Evaluate the options against historical developments.
The option specifying regional executive councils headed by Premiers and independent public service commissions correctly reflects this structural transformation.
Distractors attribute reforms belonging to other constitutions (1922 Elective Principle) or misstate judicial/legislative provisions.

Key Concept

Regional Executive Autonomy and Civil Service Regionalization under the 1954 Lyttelton Constitution
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Topics

The Lyttelton Constitution of 1954 and Nigerian Federalism