Authority of the national assembly to oversee the discharge of public affairs by the government

This study examines the authority of the national assembly to oversee the discharge of public affairs by the government the authority of the national assembly is drawn under articles 62, 63, 89, 100 and 101 of the constitution, the provisions of the parliamentary immunities, powers and privilege act, 1988 as well as the assembly standing orders. this study is mainly based on secondary data collected through review of literary works and interviews conducted from selected personalities. thus, this study is based on a cocktail of primary and secondary data. the result of the study reveals that: (a) The national assembly plays little role in overseeing the discharge of public affairs by the government; (b) Sections 12, 13, 15 and 31 of the parliamentary immunities, powers and privilege act, 1988 does not confer in the national assembly sufficient and comprehensive powers to enable it to effectively overseer and control the conduct of public affairs by the government; and (c) Members of parliament have limited knowledge to be able to appreciate and tackle technical and complex matters tabled in the house. It is therefore recommended that: (a) More powers be allowed to enable the national assembly to bring into justice persons who disobeys lawful order it has issued; (b) In order for MPS to be able to appreciate complex matters tabled in the house they should be given research personnel to enable them to debate technical and ordinary matters and be able to effectively play the role of an overseer; and local community. gender and governance have been considered as crosscutting issues in the study. (c) In order to bring transparence and observe principles of good governance, the assembly standing orders should provide a mechanism for drawing the tor for select committees.