Void for Duplication? Thoughts on A.G Abia v A. G Federation.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION
The doctrine of covering the field is a well rooted one in Nigeria’s jurisprudence. By this doctrine, if the National Assembly enacts a law in respect of any matter in the concurrent legislative lists in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999,1 and a state House of Assembly enacts an identical law on the same subject matter, the law made by the National Assembly prevails all over the country. That made by the state House of Assembly becomes irrelevant and therefore, inoperative.2
Originally, this doctrine was applied in federal systems between laws made by the central legislature and those made by state legislatures.3 Hitherto, state lawmakers were the only ones often concerned about the content of laws to be passed by them so that provisions of federal laws already in existence were not repeated. Under this arrangement, the National Assembly which was perceived as having sovereign legislative powers was never bothered about the repetition of the provisions of any other statutory instruments. The only limitations to the legislative competence of the National Assembly were those contained in the Constitution.
