As a constitutional democracy, Nigeria runs a bicameral legislature officially responsible for enacting laws, controlling public funds, and conducting oversight on the executive arm to prevent abuse of power. Sadly, Nigeria’s current federal and state legislatures operate under the strong influence and control of the executive arm. This situation weakens the principle of “Separation of Power”, which is supposed to ensure checks and balances.

In Nigeria, as it stands today, both the federal and state legislatures are heavily influenced and controlled by the executive arms of government. Almost in all cases, the emergence of the Senate President, Speaker of the Federal House, and other key leaders of the National Assembly is influenced by the President, and it is also the same at the state level where Governors decide who emerges as Speakers and key leaders of the State Legislature. With this arrangement in place, the legislature exists only as an extension of the executive arm of government where the President or Governors are the ones fully in-charge.

Nigeria’s inability to operate truly independent federal and state legislatures is basically the reason for the executive recklessness and political rascality often displayed by Nigeria’s President, Governors and their political appointees. Indeed, they live above the law. It is the principal reason for the failure of democracy and the bad governance witnessed in the country through the past decades, and for democracy to become a reality in Nigeria, the legislature must first be made functional and truly independent. Anything else outside of this reality will be a waste of time.

In 2022, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu promised Senator Godswill Akpabio he would make him the next Senate President in 2023 but mandated him to step down from the APC Presidential Primary in his favour, and Akpabio did exactly what President Tinubu had requested. Upon being declared the President-Elect, he influenced the emergence of Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President of the 10^th National Assembly. He also went further to do same for Rt.Hon Tajudeen Abbas as Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives. Likewise, occupants of all other key leadership positions of the 10^th National Assembly were selected and chosen by President Bola Tinubu. All these undemocratic actions by President Tinubu were not resisted by Nigerians, even civil society groups were docile and failed to pull a strong resistance.

Today, what we have is a rubber stamp 10^th National Assembly whose key leaders are President Tinubu’s stooges and loyalists. Until we entrench a people-driven functional independent legislature, democracy will remain a failure in Nigeria. President Bola Tinubu had earlier declared he would want all his Senators and Federal Representatives to return to the 11^th National Assembly in 2027, which means he wants to continue to take full charge or control of the legislature as an extension of his own executive office, like he did over the past four years.

The APC presently has 82 Senators out of the existing 109 seats and 250 Federal Representatives out of the 360 available seats. With these numbers, the National Assembly will remain the personal property of the APC and President Bola Tinubu. This is the same way Governors have taken full control of their State Legislatures. Sadly enough, the APC now has 33 Governors out of the existing 36. Yet, they were not bold enough to accept electronic transmission of results. Therefore, the right way to go, is to make the #FixNASS2027 Movement a huge success, and this is why we must act now and join the movement. It is our only option for a democratic regime change in the Nigerian legislature in 2027 and beyond, both at the federal and state levels.