Politics
National Assembly And Sustainable Democracy
Conventionally, the business of modern government is conducted around three arms, namely the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. This division is inspired by the time honoured doctrine of Separation of Powers, first articulated by the ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle but made popular by the French political thinker, Baron de Monlesquieu. Writing as early as 384-322 B.C, Aristotle remarked that:
There are three elements in each constitution in respect of which every serious law giver must look for what is advantageous to it. The three are, first, the deliberative, which discusses everything of common importance; second, the officials and third, the judicial element.
This idea was what was later elaborated by Montesquieu into what we generally refer to as the doctrine of separation of powers. Writing in 1748 in De L’Epirit des Loise, Montesqueu posited that: When the legislative and Executive powers are united in the same person or in the same body of magistrates, there is no liberty. There is no liberty, if the judicial powers is not separated from the legislative and executive powers. Were it joined with the legislative powers, the life and liberty of the subjects would be. exposed to arbitrary control, for the judge would be the legislator. Were it joined with the executive power, the judge might behave with violence and oppression. There would be an end of everything were the same man or the same body to exercise these three powers.
In its basic formulation, the doctrine of separation of powers demands that the three primary functions of government namely: law making, implementation and adjudicating or interpreting -the law be entrusted into the hands of three of an over concentration of governmental powers in the hands of a few.
In line with the necessity for separation of powers, sections 4,5 and 6 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999 clearly stipulate the powers of the three organs of government. In what follows, we reflect on the powers of the legislature.
The legislature in Nigeria is essentially bicameral and is variously referred to as the National Assembly or Parliament. Bicameralism suggests that the National Assembly is made up of two legislative chambers an upper chamber known as the Senate and a lower chamber known as the House of Representatives. It has a total membership of 469,360 from the lower chamber and 109 from the upper chamber.
The powers of the National Assembly are stipulated in Section 4 (1-(9) of the constitution. Section 4 (2) for instance states that ‘the National Assembly shall have powers to make laws for the people, order and good government of the federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter’. Mamora (2009) categorizes the powers of the legislature into three, namely ‘expressed’, ‘implied’ and ‘assumed’ powers. Expressed powers refer to those powers of the legislature that are clearly spell out in the constitution such as lawmaking, authorisation of expenditure of public funds, creation of states etc. Implied powers refer to those powers which may not be expressly stated in the constitution but which by extension of the constitution; the legislature may, by necessary implication legislate on. These include power of arrest (section 89), power to create new ministries etc. Finally, assumed powers may be exercised by the legislature in response to a constitutional or administrative lacuna. For instance, following the failure of the, late president Yar’ Adua to duly notify the National Assembly of his incapacity arising from ill-health, the National Assembly on the basis of the interview he granted the BBC invoked the doctrine of necessity and passed a resolution’ authorising the then Vice President to assume the position of Acting President.
How well the National Assembly has played the aforementioned roles remain a subject of active popular contestation. For some, the legislature is at best a drain on national resources: given the amount of money it costs the nation to maintain the lawmakers. For instance a popular text message that was circulated in the midst of the brouhuha over the pay of legislators queried:
do you know that it costs taxpayers 290m naira yearly to maintain each member of our National Assembly in a country where nothing works & where 80% of population earn below 300 Naira? A working day earning of a senator is more than a yearly income of a doctor; It’s more than the salary of 42 Army generals or 48 professors or 70 commissioners of police or more than twice the pay of the US president or 9 times the salary of US congressmen …
Others believe that though our democracy is expensive. It is better than the pain that military rule represented. The issue for me is not between democracy and dictatorship. It is about how to sensibly remunerate our lawmakers in a manner that does not amount to a derivation of resources that could be mobililsed for national development. It becomes particularly worrisome against the realisation that in terms of productivity, measured in terms of number of bills passed into laws. The Nigeria’s National Assembly lags behind the American congress, even as its members earn several times over what their American counterparts earn.
The controversy is one which is not about to be resolved and it may not be fruitful to detain ourselves on this any further. Given the specific purview of this presentation, it may be fruitful for us to focus our attention on the role of the National Assembly in sustainable democracy.
Aaron is a lecturer in Uniport
Kikpoye K. Aaron
Politics
Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar
A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.
The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.
The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.
It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.
“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.
The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.
For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.
He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.
Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.
In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.
According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.
“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.
“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.
“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.
“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.
“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.
Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.
Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.
“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.
“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.
To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.
“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.
“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.
“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.
-
Sports4 days ago
Nigerian Athletes Serving Doping Bans
-
Niger Delta4 days agoEx-IYC President Lampoons Atiku’s Presidential Ambition … Declares It Negative Impact On N’Delta
-
News4 days ago
Tinubu Never Stopped 5-year Visa For U S. Citizens – Presidency ?
-
Featured4 days agoINEC To Unveil New Party Registration Portal As Applications Hit 129
-
Business4 days ago
Industry Leaders Defend Local Content, … Rally Behind NCDMB
-
News4 days ago
KENPOLY Appoints Abalubu As Ag. Registrar
-
Niger Delta4 days agoC’River Focused On Youth Empowerment – Commissioner
-
News4 days ago
UN Warns Floods May Unleash Toxic Chemicals, Pose Risk To Elderly, Ecosystems