https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/44 MLS Wed, 12 Aug 2026 04:22:52 GMT 2026-08-12T04:22:52Z https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/3560 Assessment of the role of the legislature in enhancing food security in Nigeria: study of the 9th Senate Azubuike, Joy Ronke This study examined the legislative role of the Nigerian Senate in advancing food security between 2019 and 2023, with particular focus on the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. It evaluated the number and scope of food-related bills and motions, assessed the effectiveness of oversight activities, and identified key challenges affecting implementation. The study adopted a qualitative research design and is guided by Institutional Theory and Governance Theory to understand how legislative actions influenced food policy outcomes. Adopting the purposive sampling technique, the study conducted interviews on key informants selected from a population comprising members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry officials, members of the civil society, and so on. The study utilised the content analysis for the analysis of data and the thematic approach for the presentation of its findings. Findings showed that the Senate demonstrated a strong legislative interest in food security through the sponsorship of major bills such as the Food Security (Establishment, etc.) Bill and the National Food Reserve Agency Bill. These bills addressed issues including food storage, agricultural research, and market regulation. Despite this, the study found a clear gap between legislative activity and implementation. National budgetary allocations to agriculture remained below the 10% target set by the Maputo Declaration, limiting the impact of approved legislation. Interviews revealed that many executive agencies lacked either the capacity or willingness to carry out mandates outlined in the bills, leaving key laws unimplemented. It was also found that the committee carried out oversight through field visits, debates, and motions, targeting agricultural programmes such as the Anchor Borrowers Programme and food import regulations. The challenges leading to food insecurity were identified to include smuggling and trade irregularities, non-implementation of resolutions by Ministries Department and Agencies, weak inter-agency coordination, insecurity and the absence of enforcement mechanisms for oversight findings. Other challenges were poor public expenditure on agriculture and political interference in project execution. Given the challenges identified, the study made far-reaching recommendations which includes: institutionalising capacity building for legislatures and committee staff, improved synergy between the committee and executive institutions under its jurisdictions, prioritizing legislation on food security issues, strengthening oversight through digital tools and real time data, enhancing public participation through local consultation and combating predominant insecurity and insurgency in Northern Nigeria. The study concluded that although the Senate played a visible legislative role in promoting food security, poor implementation, weak enforcement capacity, and political obstacles hindered its impact. Stronger coordination between the legislature and executive arm of government is required to ensure that enacted laws result in tangible improvements in Nigeria’s food system. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/3560 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/3556 Assessment of legislative-executive relationship: a case study of the 8th and 9th Nigeria's Senate Okafor, Richard Okechukwu The legislative-executive relationship is a fundamental pillar of democratic governance, particularly in presidential systems where the doctrine of separation of powers aims at ensuring institutional checks and balances. In Nigeria, this relationship has often fluctuated between cooperation and confrontation, influenced not only by constitutional mandates but also by informal political practices, party dynamics, and leadership personalities. This study explored the dynamics of this relationship through a comparative case study of Nigeria’s 8th and 9th Senates, both of which operated under the same ruling party (APC) and President (General Muhammadu Buhari, retd). The two Senates exhibited contrasting institutional behaviors: the 8th Senate demonstrated assertiveness and institutional independence, while the 9th Senate adopted a more compliant, executive-aligned stance. The objective of this study is to: i. Examine how constitutional provisions and informal political practices influenced the dynamics of the legislative-executive relationship in the 8th and 9th Senates. ii. Investigate the role of party loyalty and leadership personalities in shaping legislative independence and executive compliance. iii. Assess the governance outcomes resulting from legislative-executive interactions, focusing on policy efficiency and democratic accountability. Using the Principal-Agent Theory as its theoretical anchor, the study examined how constitutional provisions, such as Sections 4, 80, 88, and 147 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 (as altered) interacted with informal mechanisms like party loyalty and personal leadership styles to shape legislative behaviour and governance outcomes. The qualitative research design used a case study approach supported by document analysis, media reviews, and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). Thematic analysis was used to interpret findings. Key findings revealled that constitutional authority alone was insufficient to guarantee legislative independence. Instead, informal political realities, including party control, internal party democracy, and the ambitions or docility of Senate leadership, significantly mediate institutional behaviour. The 8th Senate asserted its autonomy through delays in budget passage and rejection of executive nominees, but suffered from administrative inefficiencies and intra-party friction. In contrast, the 9th Senate prioritized cooperation with the executive, enabling policy continuity and budgetary timeliness, albeit at the cost of oversight and democratic accountability. The study identifies a trade-off between policy efficiency and democratic scrutiny, highlighting the tension inherent in legislative-executive relationship. The study recommended a comprehensive constitutional and institutional reforms to support legislative independence. Key among these are the amendment of Section 68(1)(g) to discourage opportunistic party defections, the legalization of independent candidacy, and the strengthening of internal party democracy. Additionally, reforms should aim at insulating legislative leadership selection from excessive executive and party interference. The study contributes to existing scholarship by filling key gaps in the literature, particularly the absence of a systematic comparison of successive Senates under the same political conditions. It also highlights the significance of informal political institutions—an often-overlooked dimension in constitutional and institutional analyses. For policymakers, the findings emphasized the need to cultivate a culture of principled legislative leadership and functional oversight to safeguard Nigeria’s democratic gains. Further research is recommended to explore how these dynamics evolve under subsequent legislative regimes, particularly in the post-Buhari era (499 words). Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/3556 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/3552 Assessing the impact of social media on legislative transparency (2023-2025) Ochonu, Okefie William In Nigeria today, there is public outcry among citizens regarding lack of transparency in the activities of their representatives. Despite public outcry, much has not been done to address this problem. The objective of the study assessed the role of social media in enhancing legislative transparency in Nigeria, and to identify the challenges of using social media for legislative transparency. The justification for the study is to address the issue of public outcry among citizens regarding lack of transparency in the activities of their representatives using social media. The research or study adopted a mixed method design with questionnaire and in-depth interview as instruments for data collection on a sample size of 357 respondents drawn from the study population while twelve (12) participants were used for in-depth interview. The study adopted transparency theory supported by democratic participant’s theory. Results from the study revealed that social media serves as a powerful bridge between lawmakers and citizens, breaking down barriers to information as well as facilitates real-time dissemination of legislative processes, voting records, and policy discussions, empowering constituents to stay informed and hold public officials accountable. Findings also showed that the Nigerian lawmakers use social media transparency to a large extent to enhance legislative transparency. Furthermore, the study revealed that the impact of social media on legislative transparency is to monitor legislative processes as well as to make governance accessible and engage with constituents. Finally, the study found that their numerous challenges of using social media for legislative transparency such as misinformation and disinformation, digital divide, data privacy and security limited internet access in rural areas among others. The study concluded that social media has contributed in revolutionizing legislative transparency in Nigeria by making governance more accessible, inclusive as well as empowered citizens to engage directly with lawmakers, monitor legislative activities, and contribute to policy discussions. The study recommended that social media should be regulated to address and correct false information to maintain public credibility and trust, as misinformation can undermine transparency efforts. Policy makers should create an environment where citizens can use social media to question government actions, highlight irregularities, and mobilize for collective action, holding lawmakers accountable. Network providers should improve on their services with a view to addressing the problem of digital divide especially constituents in rural areas whom are sometimes disconnected due to poor network service and constituents in rural areas should also be trained on the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and social media for effective engagement with legislators. Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/3552 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/3551 The effect of NILD’S capacity building activities on the legislative staff of the National Assembly (2015-2021) Nwafor, Onyekachi Agbo ABSTRACT This study examined the effect of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies capacity building activities on the Legislative Staff of the National Assembly. The study was motivated by the observation that most Legislative staff lack the capacity to carry out legislative duties on behalf of their principal (Legislators) due to the lack of required skills, due to the above, most Legislators are forced to hire the services of consultants in most cases for legislative assistance. Again, only few Legislators would conduct research to enrich debates on bills, and most Legislators would not have the benefit of good briefs from their aides. The need to ascertain whether NILDS made the desired impact or not to the Nigerian Legislature, to what extent NILDS has contributed to the capacity building of the Legislative staff of the National Assembly, and offered ways to address identified challenges. The study deployed the historical descriptive design and the purposive sampling technique. The population made up of the Legislative staff of the National Assembly, Legislative aides, the Legislators and NILDS staff with a sample size of 32, 10 of each of the population except for NILDS with 2 making a total of 32. The study revealed that NILDS is important in the sustenance of Nigerian’s Democracy through its capacity building activities to the legislature, however, poor funding, lack of manpower and conducive working space among others are challenges militating against the performance of the Institute. These challenges if solved would improve the performance of NILDS The study recommended the provision of more funds by the government, increase its manpower, and speed up the movement of the Institute to its permanent site at airport road Abuja. Finally, NASS should make provision for more funds to NILDS for the capacity building of the legislative staff to enable more number of legislative staff / Aides participate in NILDS capacity building programs. Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://ir.nilds.gov.ng//handle/123456789/3551 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z