Integrity Journal of Arts and Humanities

Constitutions are fundamental and foundational laws of a state. The validity of other laws and official actions depends on the degree of their conformity with the Constitution. Constitutions are designed to provide a long-term structural framework for the legal ordering of a state. Because of their centrality to the stability of the state, constitutions are designed to resist incessant alterations and modifications. The degree of rigidity of a constitution is determined by the processes involved in its amendment.  There are several models or formulae of constitutional amendment. They all seek to balance constitutional stability with social dynamism. The intention is to prevent sacrificing social development for constitutional stability. The models of constitutional amendment procedures include legislative supermajority, bicameral consensus, referendum, reference to federating units, etc. In this paper, a comparative analysis of the respective procedures for constitutional amendment in Ghana and Nigeria is undertaken. The paper adopts the doctrinal research methodology and examines primary sources especially the respective constitutions, case law and scholarly opinions. The analysis reveals that the procedure for constitutional amendments is determined by the status of the provisions of the constitution sought to be amended. The paper identifies the models applicable to the amendment of different classes of constitutional provisions in both countries and highlights areas of similarities and differences.