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The increasing agitation for a functional federal system or what is referred to as ‘true federalism’ in the Nigerian parlance, after the democratic transition that culminated in civil rule in 1999 is an indication that all is not well with the existing practice of federalism in Nigeria. The apparent defects in the federal system, no doubt, provide the basis for this agitation. Nigeria is a federation operating a federal constitution but in practice the country works as a unitary state, a fallout of the centralising tendencies that have come to characterise the governmental system. However, there seems to be a consensus, especially in the southern part of the country that the operation of federalism in Nigeria does not conform to the fundamental principles of federalism. As Wheare (1963: 20) argues, ‘a country may have a federal constitution, but in practice it may work that constitution in such a way that its government is not federal’. Also, as Erk (2004: 3) suggests, ‘the presence...

INTRODUCTION     citizenship is a term that is used to express the status of individuals who passes full political and legal rights in a state.      It can also be define as a membership of a given state.some scholar in 2016 described citizenship as a membership in specific nation-state and the formal right and obligation that this membership entails.It connotes status and identity .     some scholars in 2012 posits that citizenship has three aspect,namely the citizens have a say in political decision making; access to courts of laws that are manned by co-citizens;who judge according to rules that equally applies to all citizens;and a guarantee of minimum socio-economic conditions of existence. therefor, citizenship connotes a status as well as well as a legal relationship that exist between an individual and the state. The relationship translate into performance of duties as well as obligations by the citizen on one hand and on the other hand ...