THE LEGISLATURE

CONTENTS

1.0       Introduction

2.0       Objectives

• Main Content
• Vacation of Seats
• Tenure of Seats of Members
• Qualifications for Membership of National Assembly
• Disqualifications
• The Life Span of the Legislature
• Duty of    the  President   in   Relation to the National Assembly
• Mode of Exercising Federal Legislative Power: General
• Mode of Exercising Federal Legislative Power: Money Bill

4.0       Conclusion

5.0       Summary

6.0       Tutor-Marked Assignment

7.0       References/Further Readings

INTRODUCTION

The Senate and the House of Representatives are known as the Federal Legislature in Nigeria. These two Houses can not make laws  without the consent of the President, since no bill can become law until the President has assented to it. Hence it will be right to suggest that the parliament in Nigeria consists of the President, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. By virtue of the 1979 Constitution, 5  Senators were usually elected from each state while 450 members in all constituted the House of Representatives.

It must be noted however that while we have a President and a Deputy President in the Senate in the Senate who are usually elected by the members of the Senate itself, there are also the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives usually chosen by the members of the House also – in consimili casu.

OBJECTIVES

When you have completed this unit, you should be able to: discuss issues on supremacy of the legislature

the functions of the legislature

qualification of members of the legislature. 

MAIN CONTENT

Vacation of Seats

The President or the Deputy President of the Senate or the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives shall vacate his office under the following conditions; to wit:

• If he ceases to be a member of the Senate or the House of Representatives, as the case may be, otherwise than by reason of a dissolution of the Senate or the House of Representatives; or
• When the House of which he was a member first sits after any dissolution of that House; or
• If he is removed from office by a Resolution of the Senate or of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of members of that House.

Tenure of Seats of Members

• A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if:
• he becomes a member of another legislative house;
• any other circumstances arise that, if he were not a member of the Senate or the House of Representatives, would cause him to be disqualified for election as a member;
• he ceases to be a citizen of Nigeria;
• he becomes President, Vice-President, Governor, Deputy Governor or a Minister of the Government of the Federation or a Commissioner of the Government of a State;
• save as otherwise prescribed by this Constitution, he becomes a member of a commission or other body established by this Constitution or by any other law;
• without just cause he is absent from meetings of the House of which he is a member for a period amounting in the aggregation to more than one-third of the total number of days during which the House meets in any one year; or
• being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected: Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of 2 or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored
• A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall be deemed to be absent without just cause from a meeting of the House of which he is member, unless the person presiding certifies in writing that he is satisfied that the absence of the member from the meeting was for a just cause

Qualifications for Membership of National Assembly

To be qualified for an election to the Senate, a Nigerian Citizen must be 30 years of age, while he must be 21 years of age to stand for any election to the House of Representatives. Please note that only a Nigerian citizen can stand for any election in either of these two bodies. 

Disqualifications

• No person shall be qualified for election to the Senate or the House of Representatives if:
• he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria or, except in such cases as may be prescribed by the National Assembly, has made a declaration of allegiance to such a country;
• under any law in force in any part of Nigeria, he is adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind;
• he is under a sentence of imprisonment for an offence involving dishonesty (by whatever name called) exceeding 6 months imposed on him by such a Court or substituted by a competent authority for any other sentence imposed on him by such a court;
• within a period of less than 10 years before the date of an election to a legislative house he has been convicted and sentenced for an offence involving dishonesty or he has been found guilty of a contravention of the Code of Conduct;
• he is an undischarged bankrupt, having been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in Nigeria; or
• he is a person employed in the public service of the Federation or of any State
• Where in respect of any person who has been adjudged to be a lunatic, declared to be of unsound mind, sentenced to death or imprisonment or adjudged or declared bankrupt, any appeal against the decision is pending in any court of law in accordance with any law in force in Nigeria, subsection (1) of this section shall not apply during a period beginning from the date when such appeal is lodged and ending on the date when appeal is finally determined or, as the case may be, the appeal lapses or is abandoned, whichever is earlier; and for the purposes of this subsection, an “appeal” includes any application for an injunction or an order of certiorari, mandamus, prohibition or habeas  corpus, or any appeal from any such application.

The Life Span of the Legislature

The maximum life of the Legislature is 4 years by both the 1979, 1989 and 1999 Constitutions of Nigeria. This period is to be calculated from the date of the first sitting of the House. But if the Federation is at war  in which the territory of Nigeria is physically involved and the President considers that it is not practicable to hold elections, the National Assembly may by resolution extend the period of 4 years from time to time but not beyond a period of 6 months at any one time.

Duty of the President in Relation to the National Assembly

The President is fully empowered to issue a proclamation for the  holding of the first session of the National Assembly immediately after his being sworn in or the dissolution of the National Assembly.

The President is fully empowered to address annually a joint meeting of the National Assembly on the State of the Nation.

He may also attend any joint meeting of the National Assembly or any meeting of either House to deliver an address on national affairs including fiscal measures or to make such statement on the policy of government as he considers to be of national importance.

The President also has a constitutional power to assent to the  bills passed by the National Assembly. But where the President within 30 days after the presentation of the bill to him fails to signify his assent or where he withholds assent, then the bill shall again be presented to the National Assembly sitting at a joint meeting; and if passed by two-thirds majority of members of both Houses at such joint meeting, the bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required.

It is therefore pertinent to discuss in details mode of exercising Federal legislative power in general and with regard to money bills.

Mode of Exercising Federal Legislative Power: General

• The power of the National Assembly to make laws shall be exercised by Bills passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives and, except as otherwise provided by subsection (5) of this section, assented to by the President.
• A bill may originate in either the Senate or the House of Representatives and shall not become law unless it has been passed and, except as otherwise provided by this section and section 55 of this Constitution, assented to in accordance with the provisions of this section
• Where a bill has been passed by the House in which it originated, it shall be sent to the other House; and it shall be presented to the President for assent when it has been passed by that House and agreement has been reached between the 2 Houses on any amendment made on it.
• Where a bill is presented to the President for assent, he shall within 30 days thereof signify that he assents or that he withholds assent.
• Where the President withholds his assent and the bill is again passed by each House by two-thirds majority, the bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required.

Mode of Exercising Federal Legislative Power: Money Bill

• The provisions of this section shall apply to:
• an appropriation bill or supplementary appropriation bill including any other bill for the payment, issue or withdrawal from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or any other public fund of the Federation of any money charged thereon or any alteration in the amount of such a payment, issue or withdrawal; and
• a bill for the imposition of or increase in any tax, duty or fee or any reduction, withdrawal or cancellation
• Where a bill to which this section applies is passed by one of the Houses of the National Assembly but is not passed by the other House within a period of 2 months from the commencement of a financial year, the President of the Senate shall within 14 days thereafter arrange for and convene a meeting of the joint finance committee to examine the bill with a view to resolving the differences between the 2 Houses.
• Where the joint finance committee fails to resolve such differences then the bill shall be presented to the National Assembly sitting at a joint meeting, and if the bill is passed at such joint meeting, it shall be presented to the President for assent.
• Where the President within 30 days after the presentation of assent, then the bill shall again be presented to the National Assembly sitting at a joint meeting, and if passed by two-thirds majority of members of both Houses at such joint meeting, the bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required.
• In this section, “joint finance committee” refers to the joint committee of the National Assembly on finance established pursuant to section 58 (3) of this

CONCLUSION

You ha come to the end of the discourse concerning the legislature and its powers. The qualification of members and how members could be made to vacate their seats in the legislative house ha also been  discussed.

SUMMARY

In this unit, we have considered the role of the legislature, the qualification for membership and the process to follow for a member to vacate its seat in the legislature.

TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

The legislature makes law in Nigeria which must be obeyed. Discuss with reference to the legal position in Nigeria.

REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS

Nwabueze, B. Military Rule and Constitutionalism.

Karibi Whyte, A. (1987).    The Relevance of the Judiciary in the Polity in Historical Perspectives, NIALS.