Legislative Turnover in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: Issues and Implications

The roles of the legislature for the sustenance of any democratic state cannot be over-emphasized. Indeed, the legislature serves as the most veritable medium through which citizens of a liberal democracy participate and are represented in the government of their states. Hence, the modern legislature is required to be composed of people with the requisite skills and experience in the art of law-making to effectively discharge their functions. However, as observed in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, a recurring trend in legislative elections is the high turnover rate of members of parliament in every election cycle; this trend is noticed both at national and sub-national levels. The level of legislative turnover is often used to measure the performance of the legislature as an institution of government. Thus, a moderately low legislative turnover might result in an efficient and effective legislature, while a very high turnover rate might have adverse effects on the legislature as an institution. Based on this, the paper interrogates the issues of legislative turnover in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic by focusing mainly on the legislature at the national level. In so doing, the paper intends to provide answers to the causes of high legislative turnover as well as its implications for legislative efficiency in the country.