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WHEREAS the people of Nigeria are being governed in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

 AND WHEREAS the said Constitution came into existence as a result of a Decree enacted by the then Federal Military Government.

 AND WHEREAS following elections to the Office of President, Vice President and to the Senate and House of Representatives for the Federation and to the Office of Governor, Deputy Governor and Houses of Assembly for each of the States there developed a general clamour for convening a Conference of the Nationalities and Ethnic Groups comprised in this Nation so as to give them the opportunity to exercise their inherent right to determine democratically for themselves, the Constitution by which they wish to be governed in one united Nigeria.

 AND WHEREAS the National Assembly considers it necessary and expedient for the peace, order and good government of Nigeria to make provision to facilitate the convening of the aforesaid Conference.

Now therefore the National Assembly hereby enacts as follows:

 1. This Act may be cited as the National Conference and Referendum Act and shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Gazette.

 2. In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires:

"National Conference" means the body of persons established in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

 "President" means President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

 "Public Service of the Federation" or "Public Service of a State" has the meaning assigned to those expressions in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

 "State" or "States" refer to the territory or territories described as such in Part 1 of the First Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

 "Sub Zone" refers to any of the group of Local Governments listed in Schedule 2 of this Act as sub Zone 1 or sub Zone 2.

 "Zone" and cognate expressions refer to any of the six group of States mentioned in Section 3 of this Act.

 3. (1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be six Zones in Nigeria, that is to say, North Central, North East, North West, South East, South South and South West, with Headquarters at Jos, Maiduguri, Kaduna, Enugu, Port-Harcourt and Ibadan respectively.

 (2) Each Zone of Nigeria shall comprise the group of States shown in the Table in Schedule 1 to this Act

 4. (1) There is hereby established -

 (a) in respect of each of the South East, South West and South South Zones, a Zonal Council; and

 (b) in respect of the North Central, North East and North West Zones, two sub Zonal Councils each.

 (2) The two sub Zones (to be known as sub Zone 1 and sub Zone 2) in the North Central, North East and the North West shall comprise the States shown in Schedule 2 to this Act.

 (3) A Zonal Council or sub Zonal Council shall consist of five members from each of the States in that Zone or sub Zone as the case may be.

 (4)(a) The members of a Zonal Council or a sub Zonal Council (as the case may require) shall be appointed by the President on the nomination of Afenifere (in respect of the South West), Ohanaeze (in respect of the South East), Union of the Niger Delta (in respect of the South South), Arewa Consultative Forum (in respect of the States comprising sub Zone 1) and the Middle Belt Forum (in respect of the States comprising sub Zone 2) in each of the North Central, North East and North West).

 (b) The Chairman of a Zonal Council or sub Zonal Council shall be elected by that Council from among its members.

 (c) A meeting of a Zonal Council or sub Zonal Council for the purpose of electing the Chairman of that Council shall be convened and presided over by a person to be nominated by the same body of persons who appointed the Zonal Council or sub Zonal Council concerned and the date, time and venue of such meeting shall be notified to every member of the Council in the letter appointing him as a member.

 (5) If the President fails to appoint a member of the Zonal Council or sub Zonal Council pursuant to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, within 30 days of the nomination being communicated to him, the person so nominated shall be deemed to have been duly appointed.

 (6) A person shall cease to hold office as Chairman or member of a Zonal Council if:

 (a) he becomes of unsound mind; or

 (b) he becomes bankrupt or makes a composition with his creditors; or

 (c) he is convinced of a felony or any offence involving dishonesty; or

 (d) he is guilty of serious misconduct in relation to his duties; to

(e) he accepts office as a public officer in the public service of the Federation or in the public service of a State.

 (7) The provisions contained in Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the proceedings of a Zonal Council or a sub Zonal Council and to other matters as therein contained.

 5. Subject to the provisions of this Act, a Zonal Council or sub Zonal Council shall have responsibility for organising and conducting the selection of the persons who are to serve as delegates to the National Conference from that Zone or sub Zone.

 6. (1) A person shall not be qualified to be selected as a delegate to the National Conference if he is currently employed in the public service of the Federation or in the public service of a State.

 (2) A person may be selected as a delegate to the National Conference, notwithstanding the fact that he is a member of a Zonal Council or sub Zonal Council.

 (3) In the selection of delegates to the National Conference a Zonal Council or sub Zonal Council shall ensure that as far as practicable, ethnic groups or nationalities indigenous to the Zone and shades of political opinion in the area for which it is established are fairly represented and further that the delegates include persons who by reason of their academic background, experience in or knowledge of the affairs of the country or membership of important interest groups can contribute meaningfully to the deliberations at the National Conference.

 (4) Notwithstanding the provision of subsection (3) of this section, a Zonal Council or sub Zonal Council may co-opt any person from outside the Zone or sub Zone but so that the number of delegates shall not exceed the number prescribed by section 8A of this Act.

 (5) Subject to the provision of subsection (3) of this section, the selection of delegates shall be by such means whether by election or otherwise as the Zonal Council or sub Zonal Council may consider appropriate.

 (6) A person shall not be selected as a delegate to the National Conference, or if selected shall cease to be a member of any of the events mentioned in subsection (2) of Section 4 of this Act (which would disqualify him as Chairman or member of a Zonal Council or sub Zonal Council) occurs in relation to him.

 (7) Any vacancy occurring among the delegates to the National Conference shall be filled by selection organised and conducted by the appropriate Zonal Council in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

 7. (1) There shall be for the purpose of this Act, a National Conference which shall, subject to this Act, have full powers to deliberate upon a Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as other matters relating to the unity and good government of the country.

 (2) The National Conference shall be convened by the President within 60 days after this Act comes into force.

 8A. The National Conference shall consist of the following members, that is -

 (1) four hundred and twenty members to be selected in accordance with the following provisions:

 (i) the Zonal Council for each of the South East, South West and South South Zones shall each select not more than seventy delegates to the Conference; and

 (ii) the Zonal Council for sub Zone 1 and for sub Zone 2 in the North Central, North West and North East shall each select the number of delegates in Schedule 2 to this Act to the Conference; and

 (2) sixty delegates being members of the National Assembly to be selected in the manner provided for in section 9 of this Act.

 8B. (1) For the purpose of electing delegates to the National Conference from among the members of the National Assembly, the Clerk of the Senate shall convene a meeting of all Senators and all members of the House of Representatives whose senatorial districts or constituencies (as the case maybe) are located in each of the six Zones established by section 3 of this Act.

 (2) The rules for electing the 10 delegates from a Zone shall be determined by the meeting of the members of the Houses of the National Assembly concerned; provided that no one shall be elected as a delegate unless his election is supported by the votes of a simple majority of those present at the meeting.

 (3) Notice convening a meeting for the holding of an election under this section shall not be less than 7 days.

 9. (1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, a person shall be qualified for selection as a member of the National Conference if he is a citizen of Nigeria and is not less than eighteen years old.

 (2) A person shall not be qualified for membership of the National Conference if:

 (a) he is of unsound mind; or

 (b) he is bankrupt or makes a composition with his creditors; or

 (c) he is convicted of felony or any offence involving dishonesty; or

 (d) he is found guilty of serious misconduct in relation to his public duties; or

 (e) he is a member of the Armed Forces or the Nigeria Police Force or a member of the public service of the Federation or of a State within the meaning of the Constitution, or a member of the staff of any Local Government, unless he has resigned his office not less than thirty days before his selection.

 10. Subject to this Act, the proceedings of the National Conference shall be conducted in accordance with the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives with such modifications as may be approved by the Chairman of the National Conference and, subject to such modifications, the Standing Orders shall be deemed to be the Standing Orders of the National Conference.

 11. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, every member of the National Conference shall have one vote.

 (2) The quorum of the National Conference for the purpose of transacting any business other than adjournments shall be not less than 140 members:

 Provided that no proceedings of the National Conference shall be rendered invalid under this section unless objection is taken by a member present other than the person presiding, that there are fewer members present at the meeting than the prescribed quorum.

 (3)(a) The person presiding at a meeting of the National Conference shall use his best endeavour to arrive at decisions by consensus among those present at the meeting.

 (b) Upon failure to arrive at a consensus, any question proposed for decision shall be regarded as the decision of the conference if it is supported by the votes of a majority of two-thirds of the members present and voting or in default of such majority by the votes of not less than four zones.

 (c) For the purpose of sub-paragraph (b) of this section, a Zone (whether or not it is divided into sub Zones) shall be deemed to have voted in accordance with the votes of a simple majority of the total number of delegates from that zone.

 12. Every member of the National Conference shall before taking his seat in the Conference, take and subscribe before the Conference, the oath of allegiance, which for the purposes of this section, may be modified in such manner as may be approve by the Chief Justice of Nigeria so however that any member may instead of the oath make the appropriate affirmation as provided by law.

 13. (1) There shall be a Secretary to the National Conference who shall be appointed by the Conference and who shall not be a member of the Public Service of the Federation or of a State and who shall be paid such renumeration and allowances as may be determined by the President.

 (2) There shall also be appointed such number of supporting staff as may be required to assist the Secretary in the performance of his duties.

 14. There shall be paid to the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and members of the National Conference such allowances as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria may approve.

 15. (1) The Chairman and Secretary of the National Conference shall certify the Draft Constitution as passed by the National Conference and lodge authenticated copies thereof with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives who shall cause it to be laid before the appropriate House.

 (2). The Government Printer shall print or cause to be printed adequate copies of the Drat Constitution for sale at cost to any member of the public who wishes to purchase the same.

 16. (1) A Referendum shall be held on the question whether the Draft Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria approved and passed by the National Conference is acceptable to the people of Nigeria.

 (2) The question to be asked in the Referendum, and the ballot paper to be used for that purpose, shall be in the form set out in Schedule 4 to this Act, but so that the YES ballot papers shall be in GREEN colour whilst the NO ballot papers shall be in RED.

 (3) The Independent National Electoral Commission shall be responsible for organising and conducting the referendum and for giving the widest possible publicity to the method of voting YES or NO.

 (4) The persons entitled to vote in the referendum shall be those whose names are on the Register of Voters for purposes of election of members of the National Assembly.

 (5) The ballot shall be open and the Independent National Electoral Commission shall make regulations for the purpose of ensuring the proper conduct thereof and that no person votes more than once.

 (6) The regulations made pursuant to the provisions of this section may impose penalties for contravention.

 (7) All regulations made as aforementioned shall be laid on the Table of the National Assembly and published in the Federal Gazette.

 (8) Subject to the provisions of subsection 9 of this section, the Bill for a Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria proposed by the National Conference shall become law and be binding on all persons and authorities when and if there is a majority of "Yes" votes in favour of its adoption but shall not come into force before the expiration of the term of office of the President, Vice President, Governor, Deputy Governor or members of any of the legislative Houses under the present Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

 (9) A majority of 'Yes' votes for the purposes of this section means:

 (a) two-thirds majority of the votes cast at the referendum; or

 (b) a simple majority of votes in each of not less than two-thirds of all the six Zones mentioned in Section 3 of the this Act.

Schedule 1

The Six Zones of Nigeria

 ZONE/HEADQUARTERS/CONSTITUENT STATES

 (A) NORTH CENTRAL (Jos)

 1. Kwara 2. Kogi 3. Plateau 4. Nassarawa 5. Benue 6. Niger

 (B) NORTH EAST (Maiduguri)

 1. Borno 2. Yobe 3. Bauchi 4. Gombe 5. Taraba 6. Adamawa

 (C) NORTH WEST (Kaduna)

 1. Sokoto 2. Zamfara 3. Kebbi 4. Kaduna 5. Katsina 6. Kano 7. Jigawa

 (D) SOUTH EAST (Enugu)

 1. Anambra 2. Enugu 3. Ebonyi 4. Imo 5. Abia

 (E) SOUTH SOUTH (Port Harcourt)

 1. Edo 2. Delta 3. Rivers 4. Bayelsa 5. Cross River 6. Akwa Ibom

 (F) SOUTH WEST (Ibadan)

 1. Lagos 2. Ogun 3. Oyo 4. Osun 5. Ondo 6. Ekiti

Schedule 2 Section 4(2)

 NORTH CENTRAL ZONE

Sub Zone 1

 States from which the Arewa Consultative Forum are to select 4 delegates

 1. Nassarawa 2. Niger

Sub Zone 2

 States from which the Middle-Belt Forum are to select 66 delegates:

 1. Plateau 2. Nassarawa 3. Benue

 4. Kogi 5. Kwara 6. Niger

 7. Federal Capital Territory

 NORTH EAST ZONE

Sub Zone 1

States from which the Arewa Consultative Forum are to select 29 delegates:

 1. Bauchi 2. Borno 3. Gombe 4. Yobe

Sub Zone 2

 States from which the Middle Belt Forum are to select 41 delegates:

 1. Adamawa 2. Bauchi 3. Borno

 4. Gombe 5. Taraba 6. Yobe.

 NORTH WEST ZONE

Sub Zone 1

 States from which the Arewa Consultative Forum are to select 61 delegates:

 1. Sokoto 2. Zamfara 3. Kebbi 4. Kaduna

 5. Katsina 6. Kano 7. Jigawa

Sub Zone 2

 States from which the Middle-Belt Forum are to select 9 delegates:

 1. Kaduna 2. Kebbi 3. Jigawa

Schedule 3 Section 4 (7)

Proceedings of a Zonal Council or a sub Zonal Council

 1. (1) Subject to this Act a Zonal Council may make standing orders regulating its proceedings or those of any of its committees.

 (2) The quorum of a Zonal Council shall be ten members and the quorum of any committee appointed by it shall be determined by the Zonal Council.

 2. (1) A Zonal Council shall meet whenever it is summoned by the Chairman; and if the Chairman is required to do so by notice to him by not less than ten other members, he shall summon a meeting of the Zonal Council to be held within fourteen days from the date on which the notice is given.

 (2) At any meeting of the Zonal Council, the Chairman shall preside but if he is absent, the members present at the meeting shall appoint one of their number to preside at that meeting.

 (3) Where the Zonal Council desires to obtain the advice of any person on a particular matter, the Council may co-opt him for such period as it thinks fit; but a person who is in attendance by virtue of this sub-paragraph shall not be entitled to vote at any meeting of the Zonal Council and shall not count towards a quorum.

 3. The validity of any proceeding of a Zonal Council or of a committee thereof shall not be adversely affected by any vacancy in the membership of the Council or committee or by any defect in the appointment of a member of the Zonal Council or of a committee or by reason that a person not entitled to do so took part in the proceedings of the Zonal Council or committee.

Committees

 4. (1) A Zonal Council may appoint one or more committees to carry out, on behalf of the Council, such of its functions as the Council may determine.

 (2) A committee appointed under this paragraph shall consist of such number of persons (not necessarily members of the Zonal Council) as may be determined by the Zonal Council; and a person other than a member of the Zonal Council shall hold office on the committee in accordance with the terms of his appointment.

 (3) A decision of a committee of the Zonal Council shall be of no effect until it is confirmed by the Council.

Form of Questions

 Do you think that the Constitution proposed for Nigeria by the National Conference is acceptable?

 Green Ballot Paper for YES.

 Red Ballot Paper for NO.

The National Conference shall consist of the following members, that is - (1) four hundred and twenty members to be selected in accordance with the following provisions: (i) the Zonal Council for each of the South East, South West and South South Zones shall each select not more than seventy delegates to the Conference; and (ii) the Zonal Council for sub Zone 1 and for sub Zone 2 in the North Central, North West and North East shall each select the number of delegates in Schedule 2 to this Act to the Conference; and (2) sixty delegates being members of the National Assembly to be selected in the manner provided for in section 9 of this Act

The members of a Zonal Council or a sub Zonal Council (as the case may require) shall be appointed by the President on the nomination of Afenifere (in respect of the South West), Ohanaeze (in respect of the South East), Union of the Niger Delta (in respect of the South South), Arewa Consultative Forum (in respect of the States comprising sub Zone 1) and the Middle Belt Forum (in respect of the States comprising sub Zone 2) in each of the North Central, North East and North West). (b) The Chairman of a Zonal Council or sub Zonal Council shall be elected by that Council from among its members

A Referendum shall be held on the question whether the Draft Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria approved and passed by the National Conference is acceptable to the people of Nigeria. (2) The question to be asked in the Referendum, and the ballot paper to be used for that purpose, shall be in the form set out in Schedule 4 to this Act, but so that the YES ballot papers shall be in GREEN colour whilst the NO ballot papers shall be in RED

Subject to the provisions of subsection 9 of this section, the Bill for a Constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria proposed by the National Conference shall become law and be binding on all persons and authorities when and if there is a majority of "Yes" votes in favour of its adoption but shall not come into force before the expiration of the term of office of the President, Vice President, Governor, Deputy Governor or members of any of the legislative Houses under the present Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria