The Ideal Parliament In A Democracy

In the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the structure and function of the Parliament are grounded in the constitutional framework outlined in the 1999 Constitution as amended. A senior lawyer in Nigeria, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN, in this piece, writes that legal document bestows the responsibility of legislating for the nation’s peace, order, and good governance upon the National Assembly. He delved into the constitutional foundation that shapes the vision of an ideal parliament in the context of Nigeria’s democratic system.

Under and by virtue of Sec­tions 4 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Fed­eral Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended):

1. “The legislative powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be vested in a National Assembly for the Federation which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.

2. “The National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good gov­ernment of the Federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to this Con­stitution.”

The legislature is regarded as the First Estate of the Realm, be­cause it is responsible for deter­mining the order of events in a nation, by making laws to regulate human conduct, establishing and defining the roles of institutions creating offices, and stating their functions. It is through legislation that the executive and judicial arms of government are created; thus, every other section of soci­ety derives its existence from the law as made by the legislature. However, the primacy of the leg­islature goes beyond just making laws, as it is empowered to conduct public hearings and also engage in oversight functions over other or­gans of government. It is thus ex­pected that through its additional powers of control of public funds, approval and oversight functions, the legislature will work to curb the excesses of the executive arm of government, especially in sit­uations where retired politicians have hijacked the democratic pro­cess, having in their prime tasted power and are not willing to hand over to others. These factors have shot the legislature into national focus, especially the leadership. At present, the National Assembly in Nigeria is seen as a place of retire­ment for ex-governors and other top government functionaries, which limits the capacity of the lawmakers, especially the Senate.

The National Assembly is a bicameral legislature consisting of 109 members of the Senate and 360 members of the House of Representatives, modeled af­ter the federal Congress of the United States and meant to guar­antee equal representation. The doctrine of separation of powers dictates that the three arms of government should operate inde­pendently. If we follow the chrono­logical order of the Constitution, the legislature is established un­der Section 4, the executive under Section 5 and the judiciary under Section 6, in that order. Their func­tions are defined separately but in practice, they work complemen­tarily. For instance, the executive has to inaugurate the legislature; the judiciary has to swear in the executive whilst the legislature has to approve the cabinet and in­deed the budget of the executive and the judiciary. Amongst the three arms of government, the executive is more visible, being the organ responsible for formu­lating and executing policies. The powers granted to the executive by the Constitution are so enormous that only an active and functional legislature can help tame the pro­pensity of the executive towards dictatorship.

Beyond the functions enumer­ated in Section 4 (1) and (2) above, the Constitution also empowers the legislature with other import­ant responsibilities for checks and balances. By virtue of section 143 of the Constitution, the National Assembly can initiate the process of removal of the President or the Vice-President under certain circumstances, in the same way, that the House of Assembly of the State is empowered to remove the Governor under Section 188.

The legislature can also help check the excesses of the execu­tive in many areas, for instance, by withholding approval for cer­tain appointments in order to achieve equity, equal representa­tion, and gender parity. This was well-demonstrated recently by the House of Assembly of Lagos State, when it withheld approval for certain names proposed by the Governor for appointment as commissioners. Although the rea­sons given beg many questions, it was still an opportunity to assert the independence and autonomy of the legislature. Furthermore, under Section 88, the legislature is empowered to conduct inquiries and to conduct public hearings on the activities and policies of the government either by itself or upon complaints from the public, for the purpose of preventing cor­ruption or waste.

The legislature also has control over public funds and it can deploy such power to keep the executive under control. Thus, where the legislature is vibrant and active to keep the executive on its toes, there is less impunity and law­lessness and the people will enjoy good governance as part of the dividends of democracy. We saw a good example of this between Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump when the American Congress con­stantly and diligently scrutinised all the programs and policies of the Trump administration, for a better America. On the other hand, where the legislature is docile, inactive, and conquered by the executive, there will surely be poor governance and a tenden­cy for the executive to slide into dictatorship, leading at times to oppressive and anti-people poli­cies. In essence, democracy will flourish, good governance will be guaranteed and the people will re­joice when there is a vibrant and active parliament. The reverse of course is always the case when the legislature is timid and always seeking compromise on all issues.

The 10th National Assembly has not been tested yet and given the circumstances of its emer­gence, we do not expect so much. It is commendable however that the current parliament was able to assert itself in relation to the ambitious plan of ECOWAS to launch a war against Guinea. It is to their eternal credit that the leg­islators rose in unison to amplify the voice of the people at that time. As an autonomous institution, the National Assembly should be au­tonomous in words and in deed, not crowing before the executive arm of government for pallia­tives. The 9th National Assembly turned out to be the most robotic parliament in the recent history of Nigeria, preferring to treasure political party affiliation over and above the national interest. In that dispensation, the executive arm of government was always certain of maximum support and approval of all proposals and requests, re­gardless of unpopular, injurious, or backward. In the jurisdiction for which our legislative arm has been patterned, there is the robust system of separation of powers and the doctrine of checks and balances, as between Pelosi and Trump. The three arms of govern­ment are expected to operate in­dependently and complimentarily, not dependent upon or patroniz­ing, in the manner that the 9th As­sembly went about its duties. No doubt it is good to have a respon­sible legislature for the purpose of harmonization and development but when it gets to the level where the executive is always right, then such level of dubious cooperation should worry all lovers of true de­mocracy.

A legislature that cannot super­vise and check the excesses of the executive is not worth its name at all. Truth is, such an assembly of persons cannot claim to represent anyone when the chips are down. They represent only themselves, their interests, and their stom­achs.

In relation to its primary power of legislation, the legislature must be very dynamic and responsive. For instance, it must be clear to the National Assembly that the Electoral Act 2022 needs urgent amendment, especially in the con­troversial areas of multiple nom­inations of candidates, the status of public officers who desire to contest for elections, the locus standi of citizens contesting the qualification of candidates, elec­tronic transmission of election re­sults and indeed funding of polit­ical parties. By now, the National Assembly should have a dedicated legal team that will be responsi­ble for the collation of major decisions of the Supreme Court wherein certain provisions of the Electoral Act have been interpret­ed and ruled upon. These judicial decisions should form the basis of the review of the Electoral Act for amendment. Some elections will take place before the next gener­al election in 2027. There must be clarity on the role of technology in the conduct of elections so that matters are not left entirely to the discretion of the electoral umpire. In this regard, it is my view that we must substantially reduce hu­man intervention in the conduct of elections. Furthermore, the legislature can help achieve good governance if it includes a provi­sion in the Constitution and the Electoral Act giving an opportu­nity to independent candidates to contest elections. There are com­petent people in Nigeria who run away from the political space be­cause of the problems associated with the management of political parties, the issue of godfathers, the conduct of primaries, and the cost of sustaining party leaders to secure their endorsement.

As elected representatives of the people, the parliament is ex­pected to assert the will of the people by invoking the relevant provisions of the Constitution to protect the interests of the people they represent. The constitutional role of law-making should not be sacrificed on the putrefied altar of constituency projects. So much has been invested in the National Assembly to guarantee optimum performance and so the leadership of such a crucial organ should not be a matter of political patronage or reward for perceived elector­al support. We cannot afford the misfortune of parading elected representatives who are whipped along the lines of executive prefer­ences, all the time. There has to be a balance of power and of forces, for our nation to ever dream of at­taining the expected growth that our leaders have touted so often.

Independent.ng