Defections in Nigeria's National Assembly and its Implications for Governance
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Date
2025
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Zhongguo Kuangye Daxue Xuebao
Abstract
The Nigerian National Assembly started first as a central legislative council with a unicameral structure and later became
a National Assembly under a bicameral arrangement. National Parliaments are designed to incorporate public input into
governance by having each legislator represent and express the interests of specific geographical area or certain niches in
society. However, recent manifestations in Nigeria revealed lawmakers now frequently defect from the platforms on
which they were elected in the first place. It is against this background that this paper examines the issue of defections in
Nigeria’s National Assembly. This qualitative study reviews records, documents, and historical analysis, tracing
defections from the per-independence era to the Fourth Republic. Case studies and judicial interpretations were also
examined as well as providing a theoretical foundation and contextualizing key concepts related to political party
defections and governance in Nigeria. The paper concluded that the trend has negative implications for political process
in the country and averting this requires some policy measures and attitudinal change on the part of stakeholders.
Keywords
Legislature, Defection, Lawmaker, Representation, Governance, Motivation
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Citation
Legislature, Defection, Lawmaker, Representation, Governance, Motivation