Nigerian Foreign Policy Making: The Role of the National Assembly in Oversight

This study examines the constitutional and practical role of the Nigerian National Assembly in overseeing the conduct of foreign policy, assessing the extent to which legislative scrutiny shapes the executive branch's diplomatic decision-making. Nigeria's 1999 Constitution (as amended) grants the National Assembly oversight powers over executive activities including treaty ratification, foreign affairs appropriations, and the approval of external borrowing. In practice, however, foreign policy has remained predominantly an executive prerogative with limited parliamentary engagement. Drawing on legislative-executive relations theory and the concept of parliamentary diplomacy, this research analyses the foreign policy oversight activities of the National Assembly from 2019 to 2024, focusing on committee hearings, treaty ratification processes, and budget appropriations for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The study adopts a qualitative methodology, drawing on Hansard records, committee reports, interviews with serving and former legislators, and academic literature. The research pays particular attention to three cases in which the National Assembly played a visible foreign policy role: the debate over ECOWAS intervention in Niger, the approval of external loans, and the ratification of the AfCFTA. Findings are expected to show episodic rather than systematic legislative engagement with foreign policy, constrained by limited technical capacity and executive dominance. Recommendations address institutional reforms to strengthen legislative foreign policy oversight. Keywords: National Assembly, foreign policy oversight, Nigeria, legislative-executive relations, parliamentary diplomacy.