The Legislature in Nigeria’s Presidential Democracy of the Fourth Republic

The series of political instability generated by Nigeria’s First Republic parliamentary system gave rise to the adoption of a presidential system in the Second Republic in 1979. Nevertheless, the military truncated this process in December 1983. The fledgling Third Republic, concocted by the military, suffered the same fate in November 1993, when another military dictator swept away the Interim National Government (ING). In all these past democratic failures, the legislative institution suffered setbacks. While the executive and the judiciary remained operational, the legislature was in limbo (Fagbadebo 2020). In other words, the legislative institution in the Nigerian political system has remained the victim of a democratic recession. The birth of the Fourth Republic on May 29, 1999, brought to the fore the emergence of the legislature as yet another experiment in a presidential democracy. Its structure and organization in the system are an indication of its primary role in the life of the government. In the constitutional arrangement, its position takes precedence before the other two branches of government.

This chapter presents a general overview of the roles of the legislature in the presidential system. Scholars of comparative politics have discussed the presidential system from different perspectives but the central role of the legislature, as a body of the collective wills of the people remains constant. With three generic roles, the legislature is the hub of the policy process designed and structured to promote accountability and stimulate effective public service delivery. The system of separated but shared powers associated with the presidential system entrenched the legislature as the central pillar in the oversight of the activities of the executive. While separation of powers allows the interdependent exercise of power among the three branches of the government, the legislature, by its design, sets the pace for scrutinizing executive activities to ensure compliance with the intendments of its authorized policies and programs.

This chapter presents a historical overview of the development of the legislative institution, particularly at the federal level, as a foundational basis for understanding the dynamics that define its power and processes as the central institution of governance in Nigeria. From the colonial legislative gathering by name rather than function, the legislature in Nigeria metamorphosed into an institutional structure designed to function as a major stakeholder in the promotion of accountability in government. During the colonial era, the legislative institutions were characterised by the dominance of colonial government leaders who performed all functions in a system of fused legislative and executive powers. This colonial legacy of executive dominance has characterised the practice of presidentialism that promotes a system of separated but shared powers among the three branches of the government. This chapter discussed how the post-independent legislature gradually moved away from the inherited parliamentary system of the First Republic to the presidential system that began in the Second Republic in 1979 through the Fourth Republic that began in May 1999. Incessant military intervention in Nigerian politics since January 1966 shaped the character and culture of the most crucial institution in the country’s political system. The inactive exercise of requisite oversight power to enforce accountability has remained a challenge to the credibility of the country’s democratic culture.

In Nigeria, like other countries all over the world, the legislature performs oversight functions to stop the excesses of the executive arm of government and to check wastages in governance which is considered one of the ends of democracy. Considering the great responsibility assigned by the constitution, one would expect that the legislative power would be balanced with a high degree of public accountability which is the hallmark of modern democratic governance. In this paper, the oversight functions of the legislature to scrutinize, and oversee executive action and any organ of state are brought to the front burner. It examines the constitutional provisions expressing powers of the National Assembly on oversight; current and new mechanisms for oversight and accountability; coordination amongst the spheres of government. The chapter reveals that the legislature has not lived up to the expectation of Nigerians in terms of entrenching accountable and transparent governance that will guarantee good governance for the benefit of citizens. The chapter further reveals that legislative oversight which is a crucial function of the legislature has been severally compromised and often used as a hunting dog. The paper concludes that for effective functioning, the legislature should be insulated from the influence of the executive which is sometimes counter-productive in entrenching accountable governance since such influence tends to sway the minds of the legislators from the serious business of law-making.

Legislative functions the world over are usually classified as legislative and non-legislative. While the former deals with the power to make and change laws, the latter bothers on a variety of other functions ranging from financial, executive, representative, and investigative functions among others. A good number of studies have examined the legislative arm in Nigeria in relation to the performance of some of the non-legislative functions, as seen in studies on executive-legislative relations. However, there is the need to scrutinize the investigative function, which seems to have been inadvertently overlooked, but is at the heart of the doctrines of separation of powers, checks and balances, and is integral to the Presidential system, to which Nigeria subscribes. Although the legislative power to investigate as enshrined in Sections 88 and 89 of the Nigerian Constitution is given to the National Assembly, or a committee set up for such a purpose, the politics behind the performance of this function, particularly in the first two decades of the central legislature is the focus of this chapter.

This paper looks at governance and democratic practices in Nigeria from 2015 to 2019. With a working organ of the executive, legislative, and judiciary since 1999, Nigeria has maintained the practice of a democratic system of governance. The sustained interests of such practice have been envisioned to proffer social and economic developments. The chapter identifies the policies made by the legislature on social development from 2015 to 2019. It investigates how these policies have impacted the democratic governance of Nigeria; and unravels gaps in the effective dividends of democracy in Nigeria. The chapter concludes that although the democratic process has become a practice in Nigeria; social development—human security, poverty reduction, and sustainable economic growth—has been crippled in Nigeria. Using the descriptive method of analysis, the study will rely primarily on secondary data.

Youth political disengagement and poor perceptions of the political system continue to dominate many democracies. While the phenomenon of youth voter apathy, as a specific form of disengagement, is noticeable in Nigeria, little is known about what factors influence young people’s perceptions of representative democracy on the one hand, and how such perceptions influence their willingness to engage elected national and subnational parliamentarians, on the other hand. This study explores this phenomenon by drawing on the importance of an inclusive governance system that caters to all groups, especially in Nigeria where young people constitute an overwhelming majority of the population. A mixed method approach utilizing a survey of young people drawn from serving members of Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme and focus group discussions with officials of youth-based civic groups (ages 18–30) helped in shedding light on the subject. While reinforcing the widely known poor perceptions of representative democracy among young people, the findings further demonstrate an abysmally low level of knowledge of the process that births the legislature and legislators through the mechanics of representative democracy.

Democracy encompasses majority participation in the governance process of a country. The legislative arm of government serves as the representative of the people; as it is charged with the responsibility of making laws and reining in on the powers of the executive and judicial arms. Nigeria has had two decades of uninterrupted democratic rule and successful transition, the legislative arm is expected to be viable, productive, and serve the interest of the masses. Anything short of this poses a great threat to the progress of the Nation. It is believed that the acts of legislature embody the interest and will of the people hence; in line with the principle of “separation of power,” the legislative arm is expected to work as a “check” on the excesses of the executive arm of government. The National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) is charged with these responsibilities. To perform its duties effectively and efficiently, the National Assembly must overcome the challenges of corruption, executive overreach, prebendal politics, and the effects of military incursion in Nigeria’s democracy.

This study interrogates the constituency project implementation in Nigeria during the 8th National Assembly. It critically appraises the impacts of constituency projects on the quality of life of average citizens in Nigeria during the period under review. The research method adopted is qualitative techniques of data collection and interpretation through the content analysis of information obtained from government documents. The findings of the study reveal that constituency project implementation in Nigeria during the 8th National Assembly has contributed meaningfully towards the improvement in the quality of life of average Nigerians in some sections of the country. However, the success stories recorded could have been holistic if project implementation is devoid of corruption, embezzlement, inflation of contract award, use of substandard materials, and diversion of funds. Therefore, the study recommended that there is a need for collaboration between the legislature and the people residing in each constituency to synergize their efforts towards achieving inclusive development. Above all, the legislature should stick to its traditional responsibilities of lawmaking and oversight functions while the executive arm of government should focus on project implementation strictly.

This chapter explores executive-legislative conflicts as a common feature of democratic governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. It interrogates the conflicts, political rivalry, and mutual suspicion that characterized the acrimonious nature of executive-legislative relations in Nigeria’s presidential system over the course of successive administrations since 1999. The work relies on descriptive and analytical methods to utilize data from both primary and secondary sources to explore some of the major factors manifesting in gridlocks between the executive and legislative branches, and contributing to the ineffectiveness of government. The findings showed that rather than propel greater commitment toward the institutionalization of a strong regime of accountability in governance, the unending conflicts between the two branches of government manifested as parts of the unbridled competition among the political class to gain undue advantage over one another in determining the direction of state policy. The chapter concludes that frictions between political actors across the executive-legislative divide portend serious implications and consequences for the smooth running of government business in Nigeria, as well as the stability of the nation’s democratic process.

At the core of the achievement of good governance and service delivery, in any given democracy, is the legislature. Given that political leaders emerge from political parties with differing ideologies, an efficient executive-legislative relationship underscores the execution of favorable public policies while seeking to entrench the democratic process. Using the Seventh and Eighth Nigerian National Assemblies as cases, this study explores the dynamics of the party affiliation of leadership, both at the executive and legislative arms, in managing and discharging legislative duties—oversight functions, scrutiny of bills, and the conduct of government officials. The study investigates how competing interests and/or party ideologies shape the legislative process during both periods. Using the descriptive method, the study extensively draws on qualitative official documents, interviews, discussions, books, journal articles, and newspapers on surrounding issues; while subjecting it to thematic content analysis. The study concludes that objectivity, transparency, and accountability are indispensable values a democratic leader should display. This, in turn, depicts the need to reinforce the efficiency of lawmakers in discharging legislative duties as against pronouncing disparities in individual and party ideologies. The paper is compartmentalized into five parts—introduction; overview of legislative decision-making in the realization of good governance; investigation of party homogeneity at the leadership level and the discharge of duties in the Seventh National Assembly; exploring party variance at the leadership level and the discharge of duties in the Eighth Assembly; and the conclusion.

Across the Globe, Legislative-Executive Relations play an important role in the administration of good governance through their responsiveness to develop their state in a way to improve the standard of living for the populace and to ensure the system of governance is controlled by them (populace). However, it appears that one of the major focuses of any state is to ensure that provision of social services is provided to the citizenry within the state through the approval and implementation of fiscal policies. These were with the view to understanding the nature of the relationship between the Legislature and the Executive in Nigeria. The study revealed that the Executive interfered in the legislative process which has a significant effect in terms of service delivery to the populace in Nigeria at large. This study, therefore, compared old and new regimes in Osun State. Data gathered were analyzed using descriptive and content analysis. The study revealed the ease of passage of Executive-sponsored bills by the Legislature, agreement levels for the old and new regimes were respectively 85.7% and 77%, while, in respect of the Executive approval of the budget of the House of Assembly with little or no crisis, agreement level for the old and new regimes were 85.7% and 92.3%, respectively, with no significant difference at 90.5%. The study concluded that there was no significant difference in the relationship under the regimes compared to Osun State.

The Nigerian presidential constitution empowers the legislative arm of government with four cardinal functions: law-making, representation, oversight, and budgeting. The study discusses the ineffectiveness of the legislative houses in discharging their constitutional assigned roles in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, 2015–2021. Data for the study was collected from secondary sources and the data was analyzed qualitatively. The study argues that legislature at both the federal and state levels was controlled and manipulated by civilian leaders. Also, the study observes that certain factors like subjugation of the legislature by the executive, self-centeredness of the legislators, commercialization of the law-making process, and high leadership turnover in the legislative chambers amongst others are responsible for the weak institution of the legislative houses. The study, therefore, recommends transparency and accountability of the legislative houses, financial autonomy of the legislature, strengthening of oversight functions, and autonomy of the standing committees as means of strengthening the legislature and making federalism an ideal one.

The roles of the legislature for the sustenance of any democratic state cannot be over-emphasized. Indeed, the legislature serves as the most veritable medium through which citizens of a liberal democracy participate and are represented in the government of their states. Hence, the modern legislature is required to be composed of people with the requisite skills and experience in the art of law-making to effectively discharge their functions. However, as observed in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, a recurring trend in legislative elections is the high turnover rate of members of parliament in every election cycle; this trend is noticed both at national and sub-national levels. The level of legislative turnover is often used to measure the performance of the legislature as an institution of government. Thus, a moderately low legislative turnover might result in an efficient and effective legislature, while a very high turnover rate might have adverse effects on the legislature as an institution. Based on this, the paper interrogates the issues of legislative turnover in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic by focusing mainly on the legislature at the national level. In so doing, the paper intends to provide answers to the causes of high legislative turnover as well as its implications for legislative efficiency in the country.

The efficacy of an impeachment campaign in political and power contestations underscores the centrality of the rule of law in representative government. An extensive survey reveals both vertical and horizontal intra- and inter-institutional impeachment campaigns between 1999 and 2015. Speakers and their deputies were impeached for overbearing tendencies, financial misconduct, technical incompetence, and abuse of office. It spilled to state governors and their deputies keeping executives on their toes, curtailing their excesses and inordinate pursuits while in office and capable of sanitizing the entire political system if well-conceived and faithfully prosecuted. Abuses were however rife, negating the letters and spirit of the constitution. Sittings were held outside legislative chambers with reported attempts to an actual compromise of the judiciary. Cases abound of missing mace from assembly chambers. Lawmakers reportedly courted zealots who occasionally invade assembly chambers at will while intra-party crises were also exploited in some scenarios. State Assemblies particularly disregarded due process, as executive officials were arbitrarily removed from office on the recommendation of controversial panels credited to external influences. In controversial circumstances, panels of the investigation were set up in quick succession against constitutional provisions. This paper establishes a nexus between power contestation and constitutional breaches in impeachment campaigns. Power theory and prebendalism constitute the theoretical framework. The paper relies largely on the case study and content analyses. Observable high frequency, geographical spread, and attendant judicial reviews questioning the validity of the impeachment tool attest to the popularity and ease of its deployment largely for reasons of political expediency and power contestations that threatens the Consolidation of Representative Government.

The traditional responsibility of the legislature the world over is lawmaking. Over time, it has included oversight of governmental Ministries, Departments, and other Agencies as well as other controls including political and financial among others. Pre-1999, the menace of out-of-school (OOS) children was rife owing to the suspension of fundamental human rights and other social neglect during the military administrations. However, on the restoration of democratic rule that heralded the fourth republic in 1999, institutional and political efforts were geared toward restoring the education rights of the children. Thus, Section 18(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria expresses that the “government shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels.” Subsequently, the Universal Basic Education Act was domesticated in the year 2000 by the national legislature. Similarly, the Second Schedule, Part II, item 30 of the 1999 constitution further empowered the House of Assembly of each state of the federation to make laws with respect to primary, post-primary, and other forms of education. This study explored the role of the national legislature in ensuring the education rights of the children are protected, how the subnational government’s education policy has impacted the education rights of the children; and how the role of other critical stakeholders shaped the education sector in Nigeria. The study explored documented reports and other secondary sources for data.

Pluralist democracy and its attendant promotion of multi-party competition for political power necessarily makes recourse to partisanship a norm, particularly in a heterogenous society like Nigeria where existing fault lines are reinforced by differences in religion, ethnicity, and other centrifugal forces that have challenged the capacity of political leaders in building cross-party consensus and politics of accommodation on critical issues of national development. The multiplicity of views, policies, and programs is the cornerstone of (parliamentary) democracy in general, and commitments to particular policy orientations, through ideology or party membership, have often been thought of as part of the ethos of participatory democracy. Recent developments across political systems have, however, provoked a rethinking of the virtue or otherwise of partisanship, as recourse to extreme, divisive, and disintegrative tendencies on the altar of pursuing partisan interests has come to the forefront of national debates, whether in the advanced democracies of the West or nascent democracies of Africa and other developing parts of the Global South. In this paper, the author, who has had practical knowledge of the inside working of the legislative institutions at both the federal and the state levels in Nigeria, reflects on the scourge of extreme partisanship in the Nigeria political system, interrogating how the provisions of the presidential Constitution has sought to moderate the impact of partisanship in critical aspects of the workings of the National Assembly and the political system. From the perspective of a participant–observer, the author suggests a few steps for the promotion of politics of accommodation in parliament without necessarily discountenancing the partisan character of national politics inherent in the adoption of multi-party democracy in a system that places less premium on party discipline or ideological commitment.

The study examines the legislators’ activities in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. This is to establish the areas of their weaknesses and strengths in the course of performing their constitutional functions. The data for the study were drawn from a primary source, which involved the author’s observations of various events in Nigeria’s polity, and secondary sources which include the 1999 Nigeria Constitution, official documents of the National Assembly, journals, textbooks, newspapers, and magazines. The study identifies the challenges facing legislators’ activities, including lack of political ideology; strain legislative-executive relations; frequent changes of leadership; inadequate knowledge of the legislative process; corruption; and imbalanced selection of house committee leaders. Others include—recurrent disruption of plenary sessions; intermittent cross carpeting among members; absenteeism from the legislative plenary sessions; self-centeredness of members; and a high number of dependent political followers. The challenges notwithstanding, the Senate was able to pass into law 735 bills for twenty years; and also succeeded in investigating various anomalies being perpetrated in the public offices in Nigeria, including those of the National Assembly. The study concludes that the legislative activities in the early years of the two decades of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic were hectic and could be seen as a period of “trial legislative process.” The study recommends that concerted efforts should be made to address those challenges halting legislative activities in Nigeria for the sustenance and advancement of the country’s budding democracy.