Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi

A Comparative Analysis of Constitutional Provisions for Power Sharing Among The Federating Units in The USA and Nigeria

Professor Terkura Tarnande & Onyi Jacinta Ogwuche

Abstract

This study carried out a comparative analysis of constitutional provisions for power sharing among the federating units in the United States of America (USA) and Nigeria. In the course of the analysis, it was discovered that there are no body of rules governing the fiscal relations between the component units in the USA, rather the federation of the USA relies on institutional arrangement based on shared understanding. While in Nigeria, rules governing fiscal relations between the tiers of government are clearly stated in the constitution, under the exclusive, concurrent and residual lists. However, the governments of the USA and Nigeria assign more powers to the central government. This has led to overreliance on intergovernmental transfers from the federal government to the state government. The study relied on qualitative measures of sourcing data and anchored on the Fiscal Decentralization theory. It made several recommendations on how the governments of the USA and Nigeria can improve on power sharing among the units of government. The recommendations are centred around granting the units or states more powers to control their resources and also increasing their powers to collect revenue.

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