THE RICHARDS CONSTITUTION 1946

CONTENT

1. Background to the Richards Constitution 1946
2. Objectives of the Richards Constitution
3. Main Features of the Richards Constitution
4. Merits and Demerits of the 1946 Richards Constitution
5. The Ibadan All Nigerian Constitutional Conference 1950

Background to the Richards Constitution 1946

At the break of the Second World War (1939 – 1945), the governor of Nigeria was Sir Arthur Richards. He was in office between 1939 and 1944.  In 1939, the Northern and Southern protectorates were made provinces. Northern Nigeria remained a province and Southern Nigeria was broken into two (eastern and western provinces. At the time of Richards’ retirement in 1944, he had almost completed the new constitution, where he proposed regionalism. Sir Richards’ constitution of 1946 replaced the 1922 Clifford constitution.

Objectives of the Richards Constitution

The objectives of the Richards’ Constitution were:

1. To promote the unity of Nigeria.
2. To provide within that desire for the diverse elements which make up the country.
3. To secure greater participation by Africans in the discussion of their own affairs.