For the purpose of this paper, focus will be more on the federal level, for ease of convenience. While in the States, the legislature is unicameral – House of Assembly. Nigeria adopts a bicameral legislature at the Federal level – Senate and House of Representatives, known as National Assembly. It is on the basis of the performance and interaction of these arms of government that good governance is assessed and determined. The principles that guide operations of the three arms include autonomy, separation of powers and checks and balances.
The institutional arrangement is reflected in the distribution of governmental powers between the three arms of government, namely, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. In a federal structure like ours, where a democratic system of government is in place, there are fundamental principles that enthrone good governance. In order to guard against violations against the letter and spirit of the Constitution, there needs to be a set of institutional arrangement”. It was Bo Li in his book entitled “What is constitutionalism” that made the famous saying that “tyrants will not be benevolent rulers simply because the Constitution tells them to. This choice of topic is borne out of the anticipated audience of erudite personalities assembled here and also the need to discuss and share different perspectives about the roles and responsibilities of the Legislative Arm of Government, in ensuring good governance. The topic for today’s lecture is ‘Legislative Oversight as a Critical Component of Good Governance’.
0 kommentar(er)
