Assessment of the Performance of the National Assembly in Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria: A Study of the 8th Assembly
Thesis
The study was designed to examine the extent of the effects of the role of the 8th National Assembly in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy. Therefore, it sought to; identify the roles of the legislature in a democracy, assess the efforts of the 8th National Assembly in strengthening democracy in Nigeria, identify the challenges that confronted the 8th National Assembly in its effort aimed at deepening democracy in Nigeria, and proffer solutions to the challenges that militated against the 8th Assembly’s actions aimed at strengthening democracy in Nigeria. The study adopted the survey research design using questionnaire and structured interview as the instruments for data collection. The purposive sampling technique was used to select the respondents that provided primary data, while secondary data was taken from published materials. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 16.0) was used to analyse quantitative data, while the content analysis was employed in analysing qualitative data. The analysis in the study revealed that respondents agreed that the legislature have roles in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy. In view of this, respondents listed the roles to include: representation, law-making, oversight and adjudication. However, the study showed N-Power and Not Too Young To Run/Age Reduction Bill as most renowned and specific efforts by the 8th National Assembly geared towards strengthening Nigeria’s democracy. Nevertheless, some challenges identified by respondents as impediments to the drive by the legislature in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy includes but not limited to: instability of the legislature due to the abortion of successive republics (11.7%), high rate of legislative turnover (24%), low institutional development (25.3%), lack of legislative autonomy (19.5%), composition and qualification of members (19.5%), etc.