Legislative Oversight and the National Assembly: An Examination of Committee Oversight Powers Over the Executive Branch in Nigeria

Legislative oversight is a foundational constitutional mechanism through which the National Assembly holds the executive branch accountable for the implementation of laws and appropriations. The committee system of the National Assembly, as provided under the 1999 Constitution and the National Assembly Standing Orders, is the primary institutional mechanism for this oversight function. However, the effectiveness of National Assembly committee oversight has been critiqued on grounds of inadequate investigative capacity, executive non-compliance with committee summons, and the colonisation of oversight functions by patronage politics. This study examines the constitutional framework and practical effectiveness of National Assembly committee oversight of the executive branch in Nigeria, focusing on the oversight activities of the House of Representatives between 2019 and 2023. A doctrinal and institutional methodology is applied, reviewing the 1999 Constitution, National Assembly Standing Orders, selected committee reports, executive response records, and documented non-compliance cases. The study evaluates the adequacy of legal enforcement tools available to the National Assembly when executive officials disregard committee summons. Available parliamentary law literature identifies the absence of a legal penalty for contempt of legislature as the most significant enforcement gap in the Nigerian oversight framework. The Parliamentary Sovereignty Theory and the Constitutional Accountability Framework provide the analytical reference. Recommendations address statutory contempt of legislature sanctions and committee investigative resource expansion. Keywords: legislative oversight, National Assembly, executive accountability, committee powers, constitutional law.