Developing an Effective Strategy for the Enforcement of the Constitutional Mandate of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions

Abstract

The Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions (ECCPP) is one of the committees of the Senate of Nigeria’s National Assembly. The Committee was one of the earliest Special committees established under Order XIII of the Senate Standing Orders 2015, as amended (SSO 2015). It is one of the committees through which the Senate conducts legislative investigations in fulfilment of its constitutional and statutory role under section 88 of the 1999 Constitution, as altered. The major challenge of the ECCPP Committee in the exercise of its investigation power is the refusal by some chief executives of government agencies and corporate organisations to honour its invitation. This study finds that among the reasons for this are the absence of ethical prescriptions in the SSO 2015 to guide the conduct of honourable members against unethical conduct that undermine their integrity, and absence of prescribed fine for failure to honour the Committee’s summons. To strengthen the enforcement capacity of the Committee, the study recommends, among others, that members of the Committee eschew unethical tendencies that undermine their integrity and conduct the business of the Committee in a manner that avoids conflicts of interest or its appearances.