Key Legislations in Nigeria, 1999 – 2015: Potentials for Impact and Challenges
Article
While all legislations enacted by the National Assembly are binding and important, there are many laws that are significant for their span or because they point to a major and official decisive moment for the country. Since the return to democratic governance in 1999, the National Assembly has passed several critical legislations aimed at transforming state institutions that have become moribund under successive military regimes and influencing particular attitudes and social behaviours on a large scale. This paper critically assesses such "landmark legislations" in Nigeria that were passed from 1999 to 2016 in terms of their potentials for positive impacts on development and democratic re-engineering. These legislations cover such areas as finance and the economy, politics, security, corruption, democracy and governance, and the social sector among others. Also, some of the challenges faced in their implementation are discussed.