On January 9, 1950, delegates from the Northern, Eastern and Western regions of Nigeria met in Ibadan to discuss issues relating to the new constitution that Sir Macpherson was preparing (the Macpherson Constitution of 1951). The conference was held as part of Sir Macpherson’s efforts to have his own acceptable constitution, as opposed to the previous ones (the Clifford Constitution of 1922 and the Richards Constitution of 1946) which Nigerians believed had been imposed on them. The conference was chaired by Sir Gerald Howe, the then Attorney-General.
At the 1950 Ibadan Conference, several issues relating to the political administration of Nigeria, the system of government adopted and the distribution of income were discussed. Other important topics were also discussed during the conference. The political leaders of the three regions (North, East and West) wanted the country to adopt a federal system of government that would give the three regions autonomy and then allow them to develop at their own pace.
Here is the outcome of the 1950 Ibadan Constitutional Conference:
1. A federal system of government is introduced in all three regions
. 2. The three regions become administrative regions with a governor and a House of Assembly
3. Lagos must become an autonomous municipality
4.There should be a federal governing body to oversee the affairs of the three regions.
5. The tax revenue must be divided between 3 regions per capita
6. Nigerians should start participating in their own governance.
. It was only after the conclusion of the Ibadan Constitutional Conference in 1950 that the Action Group (AG) and the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) were formed.
Macpherson’s 1951 constitution, however, was unitary rather than federal. Power was transferred to the regions, but remained subordinate to and closely linked to the central government. Since many Nigerian politicians wanted a federal system, the Macpherson Constitution faced constant opposition and was later replaced by the Lyttleton Constitution in 1954.
