https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/44 MLS Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:17:43 GMT 2026-04-21T11:17:43Z https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/1706 Comparative Analysis of First Past the Post and Proportional Representation: A Case Study of Nigeria and Some Select African Democracies Sinclair, George Adioni Electoral systems remain the engine room of democracy. It is against this backdrop that a political candidate needs to secure only one vote over his rival(s) or opponent(s) to win an election and represent his constituency during election because election tends to generate charges of rigging and ballot box snatching in Nigeria. Many voters have allegedly been rendered redundant electorally by Nigeria’s electoral system. These alienated voters are desperate for an alternative but know that First Past the Post disenfranchises them from exercising a meaningful choice. This dissertation uses a case study approach for the analyses and comparison of Nigeria’s First Past the Post and Proportional Representation of some select African democracies. It assessed the challenges of women inclusion in Nigeria’s first past the post electoral system, and identifies how first past the post may be reviewed to improve and promote Nigeria’s democracy. To stem voter apathy, Nigeria adopted the electoral system to strengthen and improve the sustainability of democracy and to avoid election rigging, ballot box snatching, and non-inclusion. The study adopted qualitative and quantitative research designs. Primary and secondary data were used in the study. Secondary data were sourced from Afro Barometer Data Survey; Ace Electoral Knowledge Network; World Development Indicator Database; and Global Database of Quotas for Women to achieve the first and second objectives of the study. Primary data were generated through survey of self-administered unstructured interview questions to Key Informant Persons from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); the Academia; Civil Society Organizations (CSOs); Persons of voting age across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria, Women, and Parliamentarians to achieve the third objective. Results of the findings show that South Africa and Mozambique have a relatively higher rate of women representations in parliament as a result of the seats allocated to them but in Nigeria, the number of women is low as a result of unavailability of allocated seats. This has a direct correlation to low voter-turnout during National Assembly elections in Nigeria. The relatively low allocation of seats to women into the National Assembly; and the number of wasted votes were some of the factors responsible for low turnout of voters in Nigeria’s National Assembly elections. Consequently, this study recommended that more seats be allocated to women in the National Assembly. In addition, constituents and stakeholders should be re-oriented on the importance of Proportional Representation for National Assembly seats while retaining First Past The Post for Presidential and Governorship seats in Nigeria. Also, critical efforts should be made to ensure electoral integrity, credible, free, fair, legitimate, and inclusive representation into the National Assembly in order to maximize output and increase efficiency in the policy making processes in Nigeria. Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/1706 2022-03-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/1611 Women’s Representation in the Legislature: A Study of the Rivers State House of Assembly, 2015-2023 Orikoha-Ejekwu, Precious Uloma This study examined women’s representation in the Rivers State House of Assembly. 2015-2023. The objectives of the study were to examine the level of women’s representation in the Rivers State House of Assembly, to ascertain some of the dynamics and peculiar factors responsible for women’s underrepresentation in the Rivers House of Assembly, to ascertain how these motivators of women under-representation hindered women’s participation in Rivers, to evaluate how the underrepresentation of women has impacted the development of the State, and to proffer measures that can encourage women’s representation in the Rivers State House of Assembly. This is a topical issue in Nigeria’s political development as women's participation in politics in general and representation in the legislature has remained very poor. The study adopted the survey method design, employing the purposive sampling technique. Data gathered from both primary (questionnaire) and secondary (published materials) sources were deployed to address objectives 1, 2 and 4; whereas data were sourced from secondary sources to address objective 3. The study in addressing objective 1 found that women's representation in the Rivers State House of Assembly is very low (91.6% of the respondents rated it low). In response to objective 2, the study revealed that political violence and the reproductive role of women are the two major factors that hinder women's political participation in Rivers State. In addressing objective 3, the study found that women's political activities in the state as they relegated to childbearing, raising and supporting family, becoming mere party supporters and shying away from party leadership as they became afraid of political violence and intimidation. On objective 4, the study shows that the limited women's representation in the state house of assembly has positively impacted development in the state. This they do by ensuring the stability, progress, and long-term development of the state. The study further made the following recommendation: there should be a strict adherence to the 35 per cent affirmative action as enshrined in the National Gender Policy of 2006 not just in appointive positions but also in elective offices. Thus, Rivers State must respect Nigeria’s commitment to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially goal number 5 which is targeted at achieving gender equality and empowerment of women and girls in all spheres of society. There should be legislation compelling political parties to reserve at least 35 percent of their tickets for elective positions in all the Rivers States executive and the legislature for women. The She-for-She movement should be domesticated in Rivers State by influential women in the education, business and political spheres of the state to encourage girls and women to take their destinies into their own hands. Also, the Rivers State Ministry of Information and Culture and the various political parties should embark on an aggressive campaign or sensitization to disabuse the mind of Rivers People of the prevailing wrong notion that women in politics are prostitutes, stubborn and disrespectful. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/1611 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/1609 Effectiveness of Legislative Oversight in Facilitating Infrastructural Development in Nigeria in the 9th National Assembly (2019-2023): A Case Study of FCT, Abuja, Nigeria Sinime-Paulker, Ruth Tesin The level of infrastructural development in Nigeria has not improved significantly since the return of democracy in 1999. Poor infrastructure development has been perpetuated despite the oversight roles of Nigeria’s National Assembly. The importance of the oversight role of the legislature in entrenching good governance is not in dispute, however, the productivity and impact of such an essential role on the people remains questionable. It is against this milieu that this study examined the oversight functions of the legislature in promoting infrastructural development to identify the challenges of oversighting infrastructural development in Nigeria, using the 9th National Assembly (2019-2023) as a case study. The justification for this study is that its empirical findings will provide an excellent background to resolving the non-effectiveness of legislative oversight functions and possible challenges hindering oversight functions on infrastructure development in Nigeria. The study adopted a qualitative research design analytical method which offers the benefit of allowing the researcher to have a broad opinion and feeling of legislative oversight in the National Assembly. This approach is considered suitable because of its capacity to deliver adequate, timely, and firsthand information and to permit informed decisions on legislative oversight and infrastructural development in Nigeria. A purposive sampling method was used to select the respondents for the study. A total number of 40 respondents were sampled from the National Assembly (20), Ministries (13) and Civil Society organizations (7). Key informant interviews were used to obtain data from the respondents while thematic and content analysis were used to analyse the data. The purposive sampling method was adopted because it allows for the selection of participants who are most relevant to the research question. Alternatively expressed, the method ensures that the data collected is rich and directly pertinent to the study's objectives, leading to more meaningful and focused findings. For the first objective, the result revealed that although the National Assembly have improved in their legislative oversight activities, it has not been overly effective in promoting core infrastructural development. For objective two, the result showed that corruption, bureaucratic processes, security challenges, inadequate resources, poor working relationship between the executive and legislature and lack of patriotism were key challenges affecting the legislative oversight function of infrastructural development. In view of the findings, it was recommended that adequate resources be provided for oversight activities to ensure optimal effectiveness and that the poor working relationship observed between the executive and the legislature be improved to avoid unnecessary bureaucratic bottlenecks in their relationship. Thu, 01 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/1609 2024-08-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/1608 Assessing the Effectiveness of the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education during the 9th National Assembly, Nigeria Tijani, Isiyaka The committee system is one of the important mechanisms through which legislatures perform their functions. Given the importance of the committee in the legislative process, this dissertation examines the effectiveness of the committee, using the Senate Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary) as a case study. The broad objective of the study is to assess the effectiveness of parliamentary committees and legislative processes in the Nigerian National Assembly. The study employs a qualitative approach; data were collected using both primary and secondary sources; and 10 respondents were interviewed from the legislature, civil society and government ministries and agencies. The data was analyzed using content analysis. The study finds that the Senate Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary) performs three functions: examine draft legislations in the Basic and Secondary Education sector; investigate matters of public concern that affect the jurisdiction of the committee; and scrutinize the policies and budgets, projects and programmes of ministries, department, and agencies under its jurisdiction. Second, the dissertation finds that the committee is effective in performing its functions: it held 16 meetings, conducted 37 oversight visits to ministries, departments and agencies, 0 investigative hearings, five public hearings and a total of nine referrals were received by the committee, ranging from bills to motions. This study concluded that the Senate committee on Education (Basic and Secondary) has done very well in fulfilling its mandate. However, there are areas of improvement and this study is recommending the committee system should be professionalized. The secretariat staff should be composed of people with different experiences and fields of knowledge based on the capacity and legislative needs of the committee. The committee staff should be adequately trained and retrained on legislative matters, ICT, and legislative procedures; this in turn will enrich and reposition the committee system. Sat, 01 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/1608 2023-07-01T00:00:00Z