Understanding the role of Nigeria’s legislative arm of government
Tiers of government:
‘Government’ is the political administration of the citizens or inhabitants of communities, societies or states. In Nigeria, this administration, occurs at 3 levels or tiers, namely:
‘Government’ is the political administration of the citizens or inhabitants of communities, societies or states. In Nigeria, this administration occurs at 3 levels or tiers, namely:
Federal
State
Local Government
Although each tier of government has specific/primary roles,they also have relative roles.
In Nigeria, service delivery roles such as education, health and infrastructure are shared across the 3 tiers, while the federal government dominates areas such as electricity, security
The federal government is Nigeria’s highest body in charge of running the country, while the local government is ideally the closest tier to citizens. However, elections are held infrequently and there’s very little engagement with citizens, who then relate more with the state government
Arms of Government:
There are 3 arms of government, namely:
Executive:
This branch consists of:
Federal: President, Vice President and Ministers of the Federation
State: Governors, Deputy Governors and Commissioners
Local government: Chairman and Vice Chairman
They are subject to the laws made by the legislature and the respective levels (National Assembly and State Assembly)
Judiciary:
The judicial branch upholds the mundanes of the constitution and resolves disputes generally according to law.
It works via a court system at the Federal level and has 3 main divisions: the supreme court, the court of appeal, and the Federal High Court.
At the state level, there are judicial arm at the local government levels.
Legislature:
Federal: National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives)
State: State House of Assembly
Local government: Councillors
The National Assembly and State House of Assembly have 5 primary roles:
Appropriations– they pass the country and state’s annual budget.
Lawmaking-they make laws that promote peace, order and good government,
Representation-as elected officials, they represent their constituencies.
Oversight-ensure the executive arm of government is delivering on the projects monies had been appropriated for,
Consent: to high level appointments e.g Ministers, Commissioners, Central Bank Governors etc
The councillors at the LG level don’t pass laws, but regulate the affairs of the local government
LAW MAKING BY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
The power of the National Assembly to make laws is exercised by bills passed by both the senate and the House of Representatives with the President’s sign off.
A bill may originate in either the senate or the House of Representatives
Where a bill has been passed by the House in which it originated, it shall be sent to the other house. The agreed version is then presented to the President for his sign-off.
The President has 30 days to sign a bill into law or withhold his signature.
If the President withholds his signature, it can become law of the senate and House of Representatives each pass it by a two-thirds majority,
STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
Members: of a state house of assembly are a function of the state’s population.
Each assembly will have a minimum of 14 members and a maximum of 40
A state’s house of assembly has 3 or 4 times the number of seats it has in the House of Representatives.
Qualification for election into State Assembly
Nigerian citizen
At least 30 years old
Educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent
Member of political party and sponsored by that party
LAW MAKING BY STATE ASSEMBLIES
The power of a House of Assembly to make laws is exercised by bills passed by the House of Assembly with the Governor’s sign-off
Where a bill has been passed by the House of Assembly it shall be presented to the Governor for his sign-off
The Governor has 30 days to sign a bill into law or withhold his signature.
If the Governor withholds his signature, it can become law if the House of Assembly pass it with a two-thirds majority.
Disqualification for election into the National Assembly or State Assembly
1, Voluntary acquisition of the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria
2. Being adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind
3. Being under a sentence of death/imprisonment/fine imposed on him by any competent court of law or tribunal in Nigeria
4. Has been convicted and sentenced for an offence involving dishonesty or has been found guilty of a contravention of the Code of Conduct, within a period of 10 years.
5. Having been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in any part of Nigeria
6. Being employed in the public service of the Federation or of any state 30 days before the date of election
7. Being a member of a secret society
8. Has been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by a Judicial Commission of Inquiry or an Administrative Panel of Inquiry or a Tribunal
9, Having presented a forged certificate to the Independence National Electoral Commission.
ENGAGING LEGISLATORS
Modes of engagements include:
Request a meeting in writing to explain decision(s) or opinion(s) taken with respect to a government policy; a bill under consideration or already passed into law or an action of government
Request a dialogue-stating date, time and venue-between the legislator and members of his/her constituency. This can either be a one-off as the need arises or at regular intervals.
Give a legislator’s scorecard of his/her activities with verifiable evidence in writing
Submit a position paper from a constituency commissioned review of a topical issue/action which may affect the constituency with a demand on the legislator to take action to safeguard the constituency. The legislator’s response can be tracked and monitored
Another way to engage legislators is through Shine Your Eye (www.shineyoureye.org)- an online and mobile platform that let’s you learn about your elected representatives, follow their activities and engage them:
The SYE platform provides information on each elected official including:
Educational background
Experience
Policy interests
Phone numbers
Email addresses
Constituency offices (where applicable)
Allows user search for users search for Representatives using polling unit (#PU) on your voter’s card registration via SMS, the user can find their representative in the National Assembly by simply texting ‘SYE’ and the PU number to 20050
Search for your representative via Polling Unit Number (PU#) constituency, city, state,political party or name.
Contract officials via telephone, email, social media or office visit via the information provided
Post comments on the profile pages of legislators
Site users can also share their thoughts via featured polls on the home page:
In the future, the platform will add the following features:
Ability to email officials directly from the platform
Add state House of Assembly members
Add Local Government officials
More dynamic Governor’s profile
Legislative tracking to keep citizens informed of legislation under review by the National Assemblies
Legislator score cards
Community highlights on projects sponsored or pushed by legislators
RECALL:
Recalling a legislator should be the final option in engaging members of the legislature:
A member of the state OR of the House of Representatives OR of a State Assembly may be recalled if:
A petition signed by more than half of the persons registered to vote in that member’s constituency alleging their loss of confidence in that member is presented to the Chairman of INEC
INEC conducts a referendum within 90 days of the date of the receipt of the petition and a simple majority of registered voters approve the recall
Courtesy: Office of the citizen, Federal Republic of Nigeria
