DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2022.v10i04.004

Pages: 145-156

The federal formula, which African states adopted at independence, is believed to be a formula of national survival. Functional Federalism is a system of federalism focused on power sharing and separation of functions between the Federal and member states and among the member states. Thus, a cardinal principle of federalism is that there is no subordinate government, even though there may be two or more state governments. Therefore, autocratic rule in all its forms is antithetical to the sustenance of genuinely federal practice. Nigeria’s adoption of the federal formula improved internal cohesion at independence, the reverse is said to be true since the 1966 military intervention. Thus, unless urgent political stability agendas (respect for rule of law and fiscal federalism) are brought to support the federal order, the challenges will certainly outweigh the opportunities.