| dc.description.abstract | This research undertook an analysis of the role of post-legislative scrutiny in Nigeria; lessons from United States Practice. The objectives are to understand the role of post legislative scrutiny in legislative practice and procedure in Nigeria; to determine the impact of post-legislative scrutiny on legislation; to identify the challenges to the application of post-legislative scrutiny; and develop the means of improving the understanding and practice of post-legislative scrutiny in Nigeria. The essence of this study is to address the lack of a general mechanism put in place for post legislative scrutiny in the Nigerian legislative cycle.
The research used both primary and secondary sources of data. The Primary sources include the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered) , Senate Standing Order, 2015 (as amended), Standing Orders of The House of Representatives, Tenth Edition, The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, 2020 (CARES ACT) and the Leahy Laws. Secondary sources include books, opinions of scholars, articles, materials from the internet, case law and journals. This methodology was used because it focused on a thorough enquiry of legal concepts, values, principles, and existing legal theory to analyze each objective. Fiscal discipline and accountability is a major
The research found out that post-legislative scrutiny has contributed greatly to the thorough implementation of laws especially in the United States of America through the oversight functions of the legislature. The implication of the findings for objective one is that post legislative scrutiny plays a major role by ensuring that there are checks and balances in legislative scrutiny, the implication for Objective two would enhance accountability, transparency and functionality of laws in public offices especially on the part of the ministries, departments and agencies of government, the implication of identifying the challenges in Objective three is that the clear reporting systems imbedded in the CARES Act would address these challenges faced in Nigeria while, the implication of findings for objective four would be the use of trainings and advocacy by the management of the National Assembly and the National Institute For Legislative and Democratic Studies to breach the gap created in the Nigerian system thereby developing the means of improving the understanding and practice of post-legislative scrutiny in Nigeria.
The research recommended that the National Assembly should focus on implementation of laws as they do on passage of laws; Law makers may imbed reporting requirements within a single legislation in the process of law making as can be seen from the CARES Act, 2020 and the Leahy Law. Furthermore, the management of the National Assembly and the National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) may organize workshops/retreat for legislators on the importance of the legislative process which ends with implementation of the law and not assent by the president, at the beginning of each legislative session. This research also recommended that the management of the National Assembly may work hand in hand with legislators to develop an organized system of oversight (scrutiny procedure with particular focus on post-legislative scrutiny); laws already passed but not implemented are to be identified and thoroughly scrutinized by the Law Reform Commission; and the Executive should give the legislature a free hand in carrying out its oversight functions. | en_US |
