CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
The Constitution of Nigeria clearly ensures the separation of powers as an underlining principle of the Nigerian governmental system. Separation of powers allows typical division of branches of government into a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary. It can be contrasted with the fusion or combination of powers like in the case of a parliamentary system, where the executive and legislature sometimes parts of the judiciary are unified, for the purpose of governnace. Separation of powers as underlining principle of governance vests legislative power of the Federal Government in the National Assembly. It provides thus: The legislative power of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be vested in a National Assembly for the Federation which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representative.1
The National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a bicameral legislature established under section 4 of the Nigerian Constitution. It consists of a Senate and a 360-member House of Representatives. The body, modelled after the federal Congress of the United States, is supposed to guarantee equal representation of the states irrespective of size in the Senate and proportional representation of population in the House. The National Assembly, like many other organs of government has functions such law making, checking of other organs of government, especially the executive, representation etc. the mechanism in which the legislature uses in sanctioning the executive when there is any misconduct is the impeachment process.
The Impeachment process has become a topical issue on the Constitutional development of Nigeria. The starting point was the impeachment of Alhaji Balarabe Musa former Governor of Kaduna State2. It has been contained that impeachment has been so much abused by the State Assemblies who do it without recourse to laid down Constitutional measures.[1]
No proceeding or determination of the panel or of the House of Assembly or any matter relating to such proceedings or determination shall be entrained or questioned in any Court. This provision ousted the jurisdiction of the Court in matter relating to impeachment embarked upon by the Legislature.
Impeachment rarely occurs therefore the term is often misunderstood. [2]The word impeachment derives its root from a latin expression to be caught or entrapped. Thus impeachment as a Constitutional process is not designed as a weapon of political oppression, suppression or harassment of a President or Governor whose face the Legislature does not want to behold any longer in the power.
However, impeachment when used appropriately
will put the government of the day on its toes, thereby making such government
responsible and accountable.
[1] Section 4(1) of the 1999 Constitution Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
2 See Alhaji Balarabe Musa Vs Speaker Kaduna House of Assembly (1982) 3 NCLR 450.
3 Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
4 Section 170 of the 1979 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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THE ROLE OF LEGISLATURE IN IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDING UNDER THE 1999 CONSTITUTION OF NIGERIA