by
Terna Iorkyosu
Department of Government
College of Advanced and Professional Studies, Makurdi
Abstract
The Principle of Zoning has slowly crept into Nigeria’s political existence, dating as far back as the second Republic in 1979 referred to, though unofficially, as the Rotational system. Since then, it has been used in both progressive and retrogressive manner by Nigeria’s political actors to achieve and attain political benefits. This situation has posed a dilemma of sorts for Nigeria’s political development. The article argues that if properly conceived and implemented, zoning will be a panacea for facilitating relative political equity. However, for long term political planning and structuring, it rather becomes a problem as it is essentially undemocratic and seriously promotes mediocrity. The analysis and findings show that the undemocratic nature of zoning notwithstanding, it can in the short term provide political stability through equity upon which the country’s political development can strive.