Strengthening the Legislature for Effective Performance at the Third Tier of Government in Nigeria

Abstract

The legislature is a vital organ of government in a democratic regime just as the executive and the judiciary. Unfortunately, the legislature at local government level in Nigeria has become moribund to deliver its vital roles due to a number of challenges such as party politics, appointment of caretaker members into council areas, use of local-state joint account, overbearing of the state government(s) on grassroots activities, and so on. As a result of the above challenges, the legislature at the third tier of government needs to be repositioned for effective service delivery. Hence, this paper examines the challenges of the legislature at the third tier of government with a view to making it more assertive to deliver on its constitutional roles. The study adopts qualitative method in its investigation. Data for the study were gathered from secondary sources and were content analyzed. The study revealed that the legislative activities at the grassroots in Nigeria are below expectation. This paper concludes that if the legislative arm of government is properly strengthened at the grassroots, it is capable of enabling people to receive urgent attention, assist in public engagement, reduce marginalization, and convey higher degree of legitimacy on the legislators for decision making. Keywords: strengthening, the legislature, effective performance, service delivery, third tier of government. DOI: 10.7176/DCS/11-4-05 Publication date: April 30 th 2021