Voltaire once noted that legislators occupy a place of honor, yet today’s National Assembly in Nigeria seems far from that ideal. Unlike functional democracies, the Nigerian legislative branch has often been criticized for its lack of accountability. This decline in responsibility traces back to the early days of the Fourth Republic, where the executive branch frequently sought to dominate the legislative and judicial arms.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo initiated a trend of executive overreach, attempting to control the legislative process early in his tenure. Later administrations, such as those of Yar’Adua and Jonathan, allowed for greater legislative independence, which many consider a more stable period. However, the subsequent Buhari administration saw a concerted effort to turn the National Assembly into a rubber-stamp institution, a move that facilitated massive financial irregularities, including the controversial N30 trillion withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria without proper oversight.
The Auditor-General’s reports consistently flagged trillions in mismanagement across various government agencies. Despite these warnings, the executive and the legislature failed to enforce transparency. President Bola Tinubu, while now overseeing a weakened economy, inherited this precarious foundation, continuing the trend of a subservient legislature. As a result, Nigeria’s democratic pillars continue to crumble under the weight of corruption and the absence of meaningful institutional checks.
