The Nigerian Legislature in Theory and Practice, 1999 – 2007

Abstract

This paper, based on direct study and secondary data examines the fortunes of Nigeria’s National Assembly between 1999 and 2007. It examines how the National Assembly allocated efforts across the generic tasks or functions that are common to National Legislatures around the world on the one hand, and as indicated in the country’s grund norm, the constitution, on the other. Those tasks include: (i) Policy making, subdivided into legislating, control of national expenditure and taxation, and control of the executive or oversight functions; (ii) Representation, including interest articulation and intermediating between citizens and government officials; (iii) Systems maintenance – recruiting and socializing of political elite, conflict management and integration of the polticial system. The unavoidable conclusion that comes across is that the National Assembly could not play the roles so assigned effectively, and so contributed in no small measure to the country’s poor governance score card.

LWATI: A Journal of Contemporary Research, 8(1), 241-258, 2011