National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria | |
---|---|
10th Nigeria National Assembly | |
Type | |
Type | |
Houses | Senate House of Representatives |
History | |
Preceded by | Federal Parliament |
New session started | 13 June 2023 |
Leadership | |
Senate Majority Leader | |
House Majority Leader | |
Structure | |
Seats | 469 109 Senators 360 Representatives |
Senate political groups | Vacant: 1 seat |
House of Representatives political groups | Vacant: 3 seats |
Elections | |
First-past-the-post | |
First-past-the-post | |
Last Senate election | 25 February 2023 |
Last House of Representatives election | 25 February 2023 |
Next Senate election | 27 February 2027 |
Next House of Representatives election | 27 February 2027 |
Meeting place | |
National Assembly Complex Abuja, FCT, Nigeria | |
Website | |
www |
Nigeriaportal |
The National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a bicameral legislature established under section 4 of the Nigerian Constitution. It consists of a Senate with 109 members [1] and a House of Representatives with 360. [2] The body, modeled after the federal Congress of the United States, is supposed to guarantee equal representation with 3 senators to each 36 states irrespective of size in the Senate plus 1 senator representing the Federal Capital Territory and single-member district, plurality voting in the House of Representatives. The National Assembly, like many other organs of the Nigerian federal government is based in Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory.
The Senate is chaired by the president of the Nigerian Senate, the first of whom was Nnamdi Azikiwe, who stepped down from the job to become the country's first head of state. The House is chaired by the speaker of the House of Representatives. At any joint session of the Assembly, the president of the Senate presides and in their absence the speaker of the House presides. [3]
OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
President of the Senate | Godswill Akpabio | 13 June 2023–present |
Speaker of the House of Representatives | Tajudeen Abbas | 13 June 2023–present |
The Assembly has broad oversight functions and is empowered to establish committees of its members to scrutinize bills and the conduct of government officials. Since the restoration of democratic rule in 1999, the Assembly has been said to be in a "learning process" that has witnessed the election and removal of several presidents of the Senate, allegations of corruption, slow passage of private member's bills and the creation of ineffective committees to satisfy numerous interests.
In spite of a more than two-thirds majority control of the Assembly by the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the PDP government led by Goodluck Jonathan and the Assembly have been known more for their disagreements than for their cooperation. Jonathan has been accused of being slow to implement policy. Many bills, some from as long ago as 2007, are still[ when? ] awaiting the president's assent. While the Assembly has made strong and often popular efforts to assert its authority and independence against the executive, it is still viewed generally in a negative light by the media and many of the Nigerian people. [4] The Assembly sits for a period of at most four years, after which time the president is required to dissolve it and call a new Assembly into session.
The Senate has the unique power to impeach judges and other high officials of the executive, including the federal auditor-general and the members of the electoral and revenue commissions. This power is, however, subject to a prior request by the president. The Senate also confirms the president's nomination of senior diplomats, members of the federal cabinet, federal judicial appointments, and independent federal commissions.
Before any bill may become law, it must be agreed to by both the House and the Senate, and receive the president's assent. Should the president delay or refuse assent (veto) the bill, the Assembly may pass the law by two-thirds of both chambers and overrule the veto and the president's consent will not be required.
The National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS) [5] is an organ of the National Assembly established by an Act of Parliament. Former President Jonathan signed into law the National Institute for Legislative Studies Act 2011 on 2 March 2011 following the passage of the same by the Senate and the House of Representatives. NILS builds on the successes of the Policy Analysis and Research Project, established in 2003 as a capacity building institution of the National Assembly with the financial support of the African Capacity Building Foundation. NILS has as its core objectives to provide quality academic and professional research, policy analysis, training, documentation and advocacy on democratic governance and legislative practice and procedures. [6] The functions of NILS are similar to the services offered to the US Congress by Congressional Research Service, Congressional Budget Office, and Library of Congress, only on a lesser scale as the institute was just established. [7] The institute has been renamed the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, following the amendment to the act establishing it.
Currently, there are a total of 21 women serving in the National Assembly, 8 in the Senate [8] and 13 in the House of Representatives. [8] In total, women make up around 4.47% percent of the National Assembly. The first and only female to serve as the speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives was Patricia Etteh who served a four-month term from June to October 2007 while the only female to have held the position of governor in Nigerian history was Dame Virginia Ngozi Etiaba who held the office of governor of Anambra State for three months after the previous governor was impeached for alleged gross misconduct. [9]
In Nigeria, men and women have an equal right to participate in public office, which is guaranteed to them by the constitution. Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria bestows upon Nigerian citizens the right to belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interests. Many initiatives have been taken by the Nigerian government to promote the participation of women in politics and public service. In the 2000 National Policy on Women, the Nigerian government pledged to ensure that women participate in politics equally to men, implementing an affirmative action quota of 30% increase in participation. In the 2003 elections, some parties waived nomination fees for women in order to lower the barriers to participation. [9] There are many civil society groups that focus on the interests of women who want to participate in politics. The Forum of Nigerian Women in Politics is an influential group that operates with the goal of empowering women. They have requested that the Nigerian government yield 30% female representation in government appointments. [10]
Women in Nigeria face many barriers to political participation. These include cultural practices, threat of intimidation or violence, high cost of election, inadequacy of willing and educated women, and issues regarding indigeneity. Women who are married outside their constituencies of birth but run for election in the constituencies of their marriage are often marked as non-indigene by the community. [11]
Women face multiple obstacles that limit them in their political participation, and this has an effect on the number of women who are represented in government. These obstacles are related to the high cost of politics, which prevents women from standing for positions, as some women are not able to afford the mandatory expression of interest and nomination forms. [12] These forms are required by political parties to run for positions on their platforms in addition to the campaign costs. [12] Women are disproportionately affected by this because there is inadequate access to education for women compared to their male counterparts and poor access to education translates to poor access to gainful employment, unpaid labor, unequal access to inheritance rights, and discrimination which sums up all the obstacles that limit the participation of women in politics. [12]
Mercy Ette argues that there has been less participation of women in politics as a result of the influence of the media. She argues that the media has reinforced a patriarchy in politics and has downplayed the participation of women in politics. [13] The failure of political parties to choose women as strong candidates has also contributed greatly to lack of effective participation of women in politics. These women are often given subordinate positions where they are able to change little to nothing or affect decisions in the political society. [14] Despite the challenges faced by women in Nigerian politics, there has been an increasing number of female participation in politics over the years. In 1999 3 women were elected to the senate and 12 to the House of Representatives after two rounds of elections. The number of women in senate has gone up to 8 in 2007, but this number later dropped in 2011. [15] The overall national average for women participation is around 6% for elective and appointive positions which is below the West African sub regional average of 15%. Nigeria ranks the 32nd out of the 35 sub Saharan countries when it comes to representation of women in politics. The upcoming 2023 elections is facing similar criticisms, as there are just 6 female aspirants who have joined the presidential race to succeed Muhammadu Buhari. [16]
The federal government of Nigeria is composed of three distinct branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial, whose powers are vested and bestowed upon by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. One of the primary functions of the constitution is that it provides for separation and balance of powers among the three branches and aims to prevent the repetition of past mistakes made by the government. Other functions of the constitution include a division of power between the federal government and the states, and protection of various individual liberties of the nation's citizens.
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto powers are also found at other levels of government, such as in state, provincial or local government, and in international bodies.
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. Members of parliament typically form parliamentary groups, sometimes called caucuses, with members of the same political party. many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often have a different title. The terms congressman/congresswoman or deputy are equivalent terms used in other jurisdictions. The term parliamentarian is also sometimes used for members of parliament, but this may also be used to refer to unelected government officials with specific roles in a parliament and other expert advisers on parliamentary procedure such as the Senate parliamentarian in the United States. The term is aMembers of parliament typically form parliamentary groups, sometimes called caucuses, with members of the same political party.lso used to the characteristic of performing the duties of a member of a legislature, for example: "The two party leaders often disagreed on issues, but both were excellent parliamentarians and cooperated to get many good things done."
The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature. It is located in Cape Town, the country's legislative capital.
The People's Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with its main rival, the All Progressives Congress.
In government, several constitutional arrangements use reserved political positions, especially when endeavoring to ensure the rights of women, minorities or other segments of society, or preserving a political balance of power.
The National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate. As of 2023, the National Assembly has a maximum membership of 336, of which 266 are directly elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past-the-post system to represent their respective constituencies, while 60 are elected on reserved seats for women and religious minorities from all over the country. Members hold their seats for five years or until the house is dissolved by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The house convenes at the Parliament House, Red Zone, Islamabad.
The Parliament of Pakistan is the supreme legislative body of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is a bicameral federal legislature, composed of the President of Pakistan and two houses: the Senate and the National Assembly. The president, as head of the legislature, has the power to summon or prorogue either house of the Parliament. The president can dissolve the National Assembly, only on the Prime Minister's advice.
The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. As of 2023, the current General Assembly is the 103rd; the term of an assembly lasts two years.
Elections in Nigeria involve choosing representatives for the federal government of Nigeria as well as the various states in the Fourth Nigerian Republic. Elections in Nigeria began in 1959 with several political parties. It's a method of choosing leaders for which the citizens have the right to vote and to be voted for. In 2023, Nigerians were getting ready for presidential elections with about 93.4 million eligible voters across the federation.
The Government of South Africa, or South African Government, is the national government of the Republic of South Africa, a parliamentary republic with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authority is vested in the President of South Africa who is head of state and head of government, and his Cabinet. The President is elected by the Parliament to serve a fixed term.
The Federal Parliament of Nepal is the bicameral federal and supreme legislature of Nepal established in 2018. It consists of the National Assembly and the House of Representatives as parallel houses.
The Third Republic was the planned republican government of Nigeria in 1992 which was to be governed by the Third Republican constitution. In the Third Republic, there were democratically elected state governors and state assemblies and a democratically elected federal legislature. The republic was however not fully democratic as there was no democratically elected civilian president. The then military president Ibrahim Babangida's supposed transition eventually turned out to be a ploy to keep executive powers and grant the National Assembly limited legislative powers. Hence all laws passed by the Senate and House of Representatives will have to pass the National Defence and Security Council of Nigeria and finally approved by the President. So while Babangida changed the usual style adopted by preceding military leaders from Head of State to president, he will continue to postpone presidential elections and eventually annul the ultimate one held on 12 June 1993. The Third Republic can thus be described as half military and half civilian.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the electoral body which oversees elections in Nigeria. It was established in 1998 shortly before Nigeria's transition from military to civilian rule.
The constitution of Nigeria is the written supreme law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigeria has had many constitutions. Its current form was enacted on 29 May 1999 and kickstarted the Fourth Nigerian Republic.
In many countries, women have been underrepresented in the government and different institutions. This historical tendency still persists, although women are increasingly being elected to be heads of state and government.
The National Assembly of Thailand is the bicameral legislative branch of the government of Thailand. It convenes in the Sappaya-Sapasathan, Dusit District, Bangkok.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, the party came to power following the victory of party candidate Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election. This marked the first time in Nigerian history that an opposition party unseated a governing party and power was transferred peacefully.
Estimates vary for the number of people with disabilities in Nigeria, ranging from under 3 million people to over 25 million. Nigerian law prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities.
The history of voting rights in Nigeria mirrors the complexity of the nation itself.
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