Benue State University, Makurdi

Enhancing Accountability in Governance through Legislative Oversight: Myth or Reality in Nigeria?

Cletus lortyer Yissa

Abstract

The National Assembly has discharged its constitutional mandate of oversight on the Executive Arm of the government with limited success. Several probes have been conducted on government agencies without the desired impact. This paper examined legislative oversight in Nigeria with a view to identifying the factors that occasioned its failure and suggest remedies that would ensure its effectiveness and promote accountability in governance. The paper adopted the historical research method, extracted data from mainly secondary sources and analyzed them both qualitatively and quantitatively. The analysis was anchored on the social contract theory premised on the expositions of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau which were to the conclusion that though the state cedes its rights to a ruling authority (the government), it still retains the sovereignty to hold those in government accountable for their actions, inactions or failures hence the power of oversight vested in the legislature. The paper traced legislative oversight failure to an omnipotent executive, an inept legislature, constitutional lapses among others. It noted that the failure has undermined Nigeria's efforts at good governance exemplified in poor accountability, poor service delivery, monumental waste of resources. The paper suggested some remedies, which include individual and collective selfcleansing by the National Assembly, constitutional reforms to curtail executive hegemony, and electoral reforms to ensure integrity of representatives.

DOWNLOAD COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE (CLICK)