This book investigates whether legislative institutions, state and national, in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic have been able to harness constitutional powers to impact public policy. Presenting how the Nigerian state has not been able to showcase the expected dividends of presidential democracy since 1999, it analyzes the crisis of governance and its impact on political stability, social cohesion, and the livelihood of citizens.
The book further discusses the depreciating infrastructure, corruption, and mismanagement of public resources, and shows how defiant attitudes of public political and bureaucratic officials define the new wave of corruption and profligacy in Nigeria, presenting this development as a result of a weakened legislature. The book displays the necessity of implementing a culture of accountability and discusses oversight mechanisms to make the executive accountable. These mechanisms are designed to ensure effective public service delivery. Finally, the book situates the legislative institutions in Nigeria within the context of the contributions of the National Assembly and the Assemblies of the State Houses to the development of this emerging democracy in Africa.
The book will appeal to students and scholars of political science and public administration, as well as policy-makers and practitioners interested in a better understanding of democracy, separation of powers, governance, and Nigerian politics.
Author(s): Omololu Fagbadebo, Mojeed Olujinmi A. Alabi
Series: Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 269
City: Cham
Acknowledgments
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Introduction
1 The Context of the Book
2 The Book
References
The Legislature in a Presidential System: Structure, Functions, and Expectations
1 Introduction
2 Presidential System
3 Structure of a Presidential System
4 Legislative Roles and Responsibilities
4.1 Representation
4.2 Law-Making
4.3 Oversight Function
5 Conclusion
References
The Historical Overview of the Evolution of the Legislature in Nigeria
1 Introduction
2 Colonial Heritage of the Legislature in Nigeria
3 Formative Years of the Central Legislature, 1914-1951
4 The Legislature in the Post-Independent Parliamentary System
5 Legislature in Nigeria´s Presidential System of the Second Republic
6 Nigeria´s Legislature in the Fourth Republic
7 Conclusion
References
Legislative Oversight as Accountability Mechanism: The Nigerian Perspective
1 Introduction
2 Legislative Oversight: Conceptual Discourse
3 Accountability as a Concept
4 The Legislature and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria
5 Legislative Oversight and Accountability in Governance
6 Legislative Oversight and Appropriation Bill in Nigeria
7 Strengthening Legislative Oversight for Accountable Governance
8 Conclusion
References
The Politics of the Investigative Powers of the Legislature in Nigeria´s National Assembly in the Fourth Republic
1 Introduction
2 The Evolution of the Legislature in Nigeria
3 Constitutional Basis for Legislative Investigation in Nigeria´s Fourth Republic
4 The Politics of Investigation: Selected Cases of Legislative Investigations in the National Assembly in the Fourth Republic
4.1 The Pension Probe
4.2 Power Sector Probe
4.3 Fuel Subsidy Probe
5 Implications for Democratization
6 Conclusion
References
The Legislature and Social Development in Nigeria, 2015-2019
1 Introduction
2 Social Development
3 Democracy
4 Governance
5 Legislature
6 The Wrong Perception of the Legislature
7 The Practice of Democracy in Nigeria
8 Nigeria´s Legislative Agenda on Social Development, 2015-2019
8.1 The Nigerian Legislature on Human Security
8.2 The Nigerian Legislature on Economic Development
8.3 The Nigerian Legislature on Poverty Reduction
9 The Legislature and National Development in Nigeria
10 Conclusion
References
Representative Democracy, Political Disengagement, and Young People´s Perceptions of Legislators in Nigeria
1 Introduction
2 Young People´s Perceptions of Representative Democracy and Engagement of Elected Officials
3 Theoretical Framework
4 Research Methods
5 Results and Findings
5.1 Geo-political Zone and Perceptions of Representative Democracy
5.2 Young People´s Membership in Political Parties and the Knowledge of Constituency Delimitation
5.3 Registered Voters´ Awareness of the Existence of Constituency Offices
5.4 Young People´s Communication with MPs Through Constituency Offices
5.5 Young People´s Perceptions of Representative Democracy and the Willingness to Engage Parliamentarians
5.6 Predictors of Young People´s Behavior and Sentiments Toward MPs and Representative Democracy
6 Summary and Conclusion
References
Corruption and Executive Interference in Legislative Oversight in Nigeria´s Fourth Republic
1 Introduction
2 Conceptual Clarification
2.1 Legislature
2.2 The Executive
2.3 Corruption
2.4 Separation of Power
3 The Genesis of Executive Interference in Nigeria
4 Cases of Executive Interference and Its Impact on Governance in Nigeria´s Fourth Republic
5 Conclusion
References
Constituency Projects in Nigeria´s 8th National Assembly, 2015-2019
1 Introduction
2 Methodology
3 Conceptual Framework
4 Theoretical Framework
5 Implementation of Constituency Projects in Nigeria During the 8th National Assembly and Quality of Lives of Average Citizens...
6 Discussion
7 Conclusion and Recommendations
Appendix 1: Allocation Fund for Federal Constituency Projects, 2012-2017
Appendix 2: The State of Federal Constituency Project in Nigeria
Appendix 3: 2016 Federal Constituency Projects Across 19 States in Nigeria
References
Nigeria´s Presidential System and the Vicissitudes of Executive-Legislative Conflicts in the Fourth Republic
1 Introduction
2 Conceptual and Theoretical Explorations
3 Obstacles to Harmonious Executive-Legislative Relationships in Nigeria
3.1 Constitutional History and Perceived Executive Dominance
3.2 Poor Institutional Capacity
3.3 Absence of Ideological-Based Political Parties
Executive High-Handedness and Interference in the Oversight Functions of the Legislature
3.4 Corruption
4 Conclusion and Recommendation
References
Party Affiliation and Law-making Efficiency: A Study of the Seventh and Eighth Nigerian National Assemblies
1 Introduction
2 An Overview of Governance and the Law-Making Process
3 Party Affiliation and Law-making Efficiency Under the Seventh National Assembly
4 Party Affiliation and Law-making Efficiency Under the Eighth National Assembly
5 Conclusion
References
Comparing the ``New´´ and the ``Old´´ Regimes of Legislative-Executive Relations and Its Implications in Governance: Evidence ...
1 Introduction
2 Political Institutions
2.1 The Legislature
2.2 The Executive
3 Legislature-Executive Relations
4 Modes of Legislature-Executive Relations
5 Factors Determining the Nature of Legislature-Executive Relations
6 Field and Methods
6.1 Synopsis of the Discussion of Findings and Interpretations
6.2 Comparison of Legislative-Executive Relations between the Old and the New Regimes in Osun State
7 Conclusion Remarks and Recommendations
References
Nigerian Presidentialism and Legislative Decadence in the Fourth Republic, 2015-2021
1 Introduction
2 Legislative Decadence
3 Nigerian Presidential System: An Overview
4 Powers and Functions of the Legislature: Evidence from the 1999 Constitution
5 Assessing Legislative Performance in Nigeria´s Fourth Republic, 2015-2021
6 Factors Inhibiting Legislative Performance in Nigeria
7 Reforming Legislatures for Effectiveness
8 Conclusion and Recommendations
References
Further Reading
Newspapers
Magazines
Official Documents
Legislative Turnover in Nigeria´s Fourth Republic: Issues and Implications
1 Introduction
2 Conceptualizing Legislative Turnover
3 Legislative Turnover as an Indicator of the Quality of Democracy
4 High Legislative Turnover in Nigeria: An Interrogation
5 The Causes of High Legislative Turnover in Nigeria
5.1 Voters´ Behavior
5.2 Public Perception of the Legislative Roles
5.3 Intra-Party Turnover
5.4 Method of Candidate Selection
5.5 High Remuneration
6 Implications of High Legislators Turnover
7 Conclusion
References
The Legislature, the Rule of Law, and the Politics of Impeachment in Nigeria´s Fourth Republic
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Framework
3 Political Power and the Nigerian State
4 Impeachment Campaign, Political Power, and the Rule of Law
5 Judicial Reviews of Impeachment Campaigns in Nigeria´s Fourth Republic
6 Legislative Actions and Activities: A Critical Appreciation
7 Conclusion
References
Online Resources
The Legislature, Subnational Governments, and Child´s Education Rights in Nigeria´s Fourth Republic
1 Introduction
2 Understanding Government Intervention in Child´s Education in Nigeria
3 The Legislature and the Education Rights of the Children in Nigeria
4 Rights of the Child and the Universal Basic Education Act in Nigeria (The Domestication)
5 Politics, Policies, and Practices that Have Defined Child´s Education in Nigeria
6 Education Stakeholders and Other Interventions in Nigeria
7 Conclusion
References
Constitutional Underpinnings of Partisanship and Consensus Building in Nigeria´s National Assembly
1 Introduction
2 Democratic Partisanship
3 Democracy, Parliament, and National Development
4 Partisanship in Parliament
5 Political Parties and Partisanship
6 Party Discipline
7 Partisanship in Presidential Democracy
8 Constitutional Foundations of Consensus Building
9 Conclusion
References
Cases Cited
Two Decades of Legislative Activities in Nigeria´s Fourth Republic: Issues, Challenges, and the Way Forward
1 Introduction
2 Constitutional Provision for the Legislative Activities in Nigeria´s Fourth Republic
3 The Legislators and Legislative Challenges in Nigeria´s Fourth Republic
3.1 Lack of Political Ideology
3.2 Strain Legislative-Executive Relations
3.3 Frequent Changes in National Assembly Leadership
3.4 Inadequate Knowledge of Legislative Process
3.5 Corruption
3.6 Imbalanced Selection of House Committees´ Leaders
3.7 Recurrent Disruption of Plenary Sessions
3.8 Intermittent Cross Carpeting among Members
3.9 Absenteeism from the Legislative Plenary Sessions
3.10 Self-centeredness of Members
3.11 Dependent Political Followers
4 The Achievements of the Legislature in Nigeria´s Fourth Republic
5 Summary, Conclusion, and Recommendations
References
