Oversight is one of the functions of the legislature. Legislative oversight is a tool used by the legislature to perform its role of checks and balances in a democracy. It entails reviewing, monitoring and evaluating selected activities, programmes and policy implementation strategies of the executive branch of government. After making laws, the legislature\u2019s main role is to see whether laws are effectively implemented and whether the laws capture the intent of their drafters. The Committee structure of the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) is used to execute oversight functions and ensure that activities of the executive arm of government and its agencies are kept under constant surveillance and scrutiny by the legislature. The oversight powers of the National Assembly are enshrined in sections 88, 89, 128 and 129 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In recent\ntimes, the leadership of the National Assembly has often been criticised for cozying\nup to the executive arm of government, a situation that makes it difficult to\nhold the government accountable. Not much has been seen in certain critical\nareas that the National Assembly is expected to pay particular attention to in\nthe exercise of its oversight powers. One is the situation of the multiple\nbudgets being run by the Executive in 2024. Ahead of a new budget presentation,\nit may be imperative for the National Assembly to scrutinse government\nspending, to ensure that it is in line with the three budgets being run\nconcurrently and inform its debate on the 2025 Appropriation Bill that the\nPresident is expected to present. Another area is the petroleum industry, which\nhas been riddled with allegations of malpractices and even a claim that petrol subsidy\nwas still being paid after the government declared that it had been removed. This\nis particularly important in the light of the rising costs of petroleum products\namidst harsh economic conditions, and the failed promises of revitalisation of\nmoribund Nigerian refineries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several\nad-hoc Committees have been set up in the Senate and House of Representatives\nto investigate malpractices in the sector. However, previous occasions have\nshown that these investigations do not usually yield much result apart from their\nfindings being publicised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another important area of\noversight is audit queries. Section 85(2) of the Nigerian Constitution requires\nthat the audit reports of the public accounts of the Federation and all offices and courts of the\nFederation be submitted to the National Assembly by the Auditor-General of the\nFederation. This is a\nvital tool the National Assembly is expected to use to ensure\nthat there is compliance with the intention of the Legislature in appropriation\nmatters. It should be noted that the\nConstitution does not expressly specify what the National Assembly should do\nwith such report. However, it can be implied that since the legislature appropriated the\nfund which the executive branch utilises, the audit reports would\nenable the National Assembly to see whether or not the executive has complied with\nthe appropriate laws and the Appropriation Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apart from the lack of\npolitical will, often times, Committees of the\nNational Assembly are faced with other challenges affecting their ability to carry out effective oversight. One of such challenges is inadequate funding of Committees to go on\noversight visits and carry out other oversight exercises. Another challenge is\nthe refusal of\npersonnel of government institutions to appear before a Committee of the National Assembly and to produce\nany paper, book, record or other documents in the possession or control of such\npersons, in line\nwith section 4\nof the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges Act), Laws of the Federation of\nNigeria (LFN) 2004. Some other challenges include inadequate preparation and\npoor reporting by Committees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To ensure that oversight\nyields the expected results, some of the conditions that need to be put in\nplace include provision of sufficient funds for conduct of oversight with a fair sense\nof neutrality, independence and effectiveness; and the demonstration of patriotic and nationalistic will by legislators in the\nconduct of oversight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n