What were the main decisions of the General Conference of 1950 in lbadan?

Answer Details

The General Conference held at Ibadan in January 1950 was summoned to review the Richards Constitution of 1946 and to gather Nigerian opinion on a new constitution. It was one of the widest consultative exercises of the colonial period, involving representatives drawn from the regional Houses. Its main decisions and recommendations were as follows:

1. Retention of federalism: The conference agreed that Nigeria should continue as a federation of three regions (Northern, Western and Eastern), thereby endorsing the regional structure introduced by the Richards Constitution.
2. A new central legislature: It recommended the creation of a Central House of Representatives to replace the old Legislative Council, with a much larger membership so as to give Nigerians a stronger voice at the centre.
3. Regional legislatures with real powers: Each region was to have its own House of Assembly (and a House of Chiefs in the North and West) empowered to make laws on regional matters, thus deepening regionalism.
4. Increased African representation and elected members: The conference urged a larger proportion of elected Nigerian members in the legislatures and a reduction of the dominance of official (colonial) members.
5. Greater ministerial responsibility: Nigerians were to be appointed as ministers to head departments, introducing a measure of executive responsibility for indigenous leaders.
6. Allocation of seats among regions: The conference debated and made proposals on the sharing of seats in the central legislature, with the North insisting on representation reflecting its large population, which shaped the eventual formula of parity in the Macpherson Constitution.
7. Widening of the franchise: It recommended an expansion of the electorate and the extension of the elective principle beyond the few coastal towns.

These decisions were substantially embodied in the Macpherson Constitution of 1951, which the conference directly influenced. The Ibadan Conference is therefore significant as the first serious attempt to make constitution-making in Nigeria a consultative, Nigerian-driven process rather than a purely colonial imposition.