Government · Lesson 4

Organs of government: legislature, executive & judiciary

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: Arms of government: legislature, executive, judiciary and their relationships; principles of democratic government: separation of powers, checks and balances; processes of legislation: acts, edicts, bye-laws, delegated legislation, decrees

WAEC: Organs of government: legislature, executive, judiciary (types, functions, composition, relationships); separation of powers; checks and balances; delegated legislation; processes of legislation

NECO: Organs of government: legislature, executive, judiciary (types, functions, composition, relationships); separation of powers; checks and balances; delegated legislation; processes of legislation

What you will learn

Explain the meaning, types, composition and functions of the legislature, executive and judiciary.
Describe how a bill becomes law in Nigeria.
Explain the doctrine of separation of powers and its application in presidential and parliamentary systems.
Explain checks and balances, with Nigerian examples from the 1999 Constitution.
Explain judicial independence and how it is secured.
Explain delegated legislation, its reasons, merits, demerits and controls, and distinguish acts, laws, bye-laws, decrees and edicts.

Key points

Three organs: legislature (makes laws, s.4), executive (implements, s.5), judiciary (interprets, s.6).
National Assembly: Senate 109 (3 per state + 1 FCT), House 360; four-year term; State Houses 24–40 members.
Legislative functions: law-making, finance, oversight (ss.88–89), confirmation, impeachment, approving war/emergency, amendment.
Bill stages: first reading, second reading, committee, report, third reading, other House, assent within 30 days; veto overridden by two-thirds of each House.
Executive: political and permanent; types: presidential, parliamentary, collegial, monarchical, military.
Ministers need Senate confirmation; at least one per state (s.147(3)).
Judiciary: Supreme Court (CJN, up to 21 Justices) at the top; judicial review; protection of rights.
Judicial independence: NJC appointments, security of tenure, retirement at 70, charged salaries, immunity.
Separation of powers: Montesquieu (1748); never absolute; fusion in parliamentary systems.
Checks and balances: budget, confirmation, impeachment, veto, judicial review, pardon.
Delegated legislation: made under an enabling Act; controlled by legislature, courts (ultra vires) and publication.

Start here: The organs of government: an overview

Think of a school. The staff meeting agrees the school rules; the principal and teachers carry them out every day; and when a student is accused of breaking a rule, a disciplinary committee hears both sides and decides. Government works the same way, but on the scale of a whole country. Political scientists divide its work into three functions, each carried out by an organ (also called an arm) of government.

The organs of government are the institutions through which the state carries out its functions: the legislature (rule-making), the executive (rule-application or implementation) and the judiciary (rule-adjudication or interpretation).

Organ	Main function	Nigeria, federal level	Nigeria, state level
Legislature	Makes laws	National Assembly: Senate (109) and House of Representatives (360)	State House of Assembly
Executive	Implements laws, runs administration	President, Vice-President, Ministers, civil service	Governor, Deputy Governor, Commissioners
Judiciary	Interprets laws, settles disputes	Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, Federal High Court and others	State High Court, Sharia and Customary Courts of Appeal

The 1999 Constitution sets this out in three key sections in Chapter I: section 4 (legislative powers), section 5 (executive powers) and section 6 (judicial powers). These three sections are the constitutional foundation of separation of powers in Nigeria.

Some writers add other bodies, such as the civil service, political parties and the electorate, as "informal" or "extra-constitutional" organs. For exams, the three formal organs are what you must master.

Worked example 4.1

A state government closes a market, a trader challenges the closure in court, and the court rules on it. Which organ did what?

Closing the market is implementing policy: the executive.
The trader goes to court: the dispute is decided by the judiciary.
The court measures the closure against laws made by the legislature and against the Constitution.

Executive acts; judiciary adjudicates; legislature’s laws are the standard

Try it yourself. Which section of the 1999 Constitution vests executive powers of the Federation in the President?

Show solution

Section 5 (section 4: legislative; section 6: judicial).

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Practice questions

1. The organ of government that makes laws is the

legislature
executive
judiciary
civil service

Show answer

A: legislature
Section 4 vests legislative powers in the National Assembly.

2. The Senate of Nigeria has

360 members
36 members
774 members
109 members

Show answer

D: 109 members
Three per state plus one for the FCT.

3. The House of Representatives has

469 members
240 members
360 members
109 members

Show answer

C: 360 members
Section 49.

4. Executive powers of the Federation are vested in the President by section

Show answer

B: 5
s.4 legislative; s.5 executive; s.6 judicial.

5. The President must sign or withhold assent to a bill within

30 days
7 days
60 days
90 days

Show answer

A: 30 days
Section 58(4).

Key words

Legislature: The organ of government that makes laws; in Nigeria the National Assembly (federal) and the State Houses of Assembly.
Executive: The organ that implements laws and runs the day-to-day administration of the state.
Judiciary: The organ that interprets laws, settles disputes and protects rights through the courts.
Bicameral: A legislature with two chambers, such as the Senate and House of Representatives.
Unicameral: A legislature with one chamber, such as a Nigerian State House of Assembly.
Bill: A proposed law under consideration by a legislature.
Act: A bill that has been passed by the National Assembly and has become law.
Assent: The formal approval of a bill by the executive head, turning it into law.
Veto: The executive’s refusal to assent to a bill.
Separation of powers: The doctrine that legislative, executive and judicial functions should be held by separate organs and persons.
Checks and balances: Arrangements by which each organ of government can limit the others.
Judicial review: The power of the courts to declare laws or executive acts void if they conflict with the constitution.

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