INTRODUCTION TO ARMS/BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT

The Federal government of Nigeria is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and
judicial, whose powers are vested by the constitution of Nigeria in the national assembly, the
president, and the federal courts, including the supreme court, respectively. The constitution provides a
separation and balance of powers among the three branches and aims to prevent the repetition of past
mistakes made by the government.
Nigeria is a federal republic, with executive power exercised by the president. The president is the
head of state, the head of government, and the head of a multi-party system. Nigerian politics
takes place within a framework of a federal, presidential, representative democratic republic, in which
executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is held by the federal government
and the two chambers of the legislature: the house of representatives and the senate. Together, the two
chambers make up the law-making body in Nigeria, called the national assembly, which serves as a
check on the executive arm of government. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Nigeria a "hybrid
regime" in 2019. The federal government, state, and local governments of Nigeria aim to work
cooperatively to govern the nation and its people. Nigeria became a member of the British
Commonwealth upon its independence from British colonial rule on October 1, 1960.

THE LEGISLATURE
The term ‘legislature’ is a generic term meaning a body which legislates. The term ‘Legg' means law
and “lature’ the place and etymologically Legislature means a place for law-making. Another term,
which is used as a synonym of Legislature, is ‘Parliament.’ This word stands derived from the
French word ‘Parley’ which means to ‘talk’ or to discuss and deliberate.
In this way, we can say ‘Parliament’ means the place where deliberations are held. Combining the
two views, we can say Legislature or Parliament is that branch of government which performs the
function of lawmaking through deliberations.
The legislature is that organ of the government which passes the laws of the government. It is the
agency which has the responsibility to formulate the will of the state and vest it with legal authority
and force. In simple words, the legislature is that organ of the government which formulates laws.
Legislature enjoys a very special and important in every democratic state. It is the assembly of the
elected representatives of the people and represents national public opinion and power of the people.
Nigeria operates a bicameral legislature in which there is the upper house (senate) and the lower
house (House of Representatives) both house are generally regarded as the national assembly.

TYPES OF LEGISLATURE
A modern legislature is either Bicameral or Unicameral. Bicameralism means a legislature with two
houses/chambers while uni-cameralism means a legislature with a single house/chamber. A large
number of modern legislatures, particularly of big states, are bicameral i.e. legislatures with two
houses (Bi = Two, Cameral = House).
However several states, mostly the small states and provinces of a federal system, have unicameral
legislatures, i.e. legislatures with single houses. Where the legislature is bicameral, “the first house is
usually called the lower house, and the second house is called the upper house.

Bicameral and Unicameral Legislatures

A unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house. A bicameral
legislature simply refers to a particular body of government that consists of two legislative houses or
chambers.
1. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multicameralism.
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 Many multicameral legislatures were created to give separate voices to different sectors of
society. Multiple chambers allowed for guaranteed representation of different social classes (as
in the Parliament of the United Kingdom or the French States-General), ethnic or regional
interests, or subunits of a federation. Where these factors are unimportant, in unitary states
with limited regional autonomy, unicameralism often prevails. Sometimes, as in New Zealand
and Denmark, this comes about through the abolition of one of the two chambers, or, as in
Sweden, through the merger of the two chambers into a single one, while in others a second
chamber has never existed.

2. A bicameral legislature divides the legislators into two separate assemblies, chambers, or
houses. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate
and vote as a single group, and from some legislatures that have three or more separate
assemblies, chambers, or houses. As of 2015, fewer than half the world’s national legislatures
are bicameral.
Nigeria, India, USA, UK, France, Russia, Switzerland, Australia and a large number of other
states have bicameral legislature. The unicameral legislatures are also in existence in China,
New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Turkey, Portugal and several other states. The state legislatures of all
the Canadian and Swiss cantons (provisions) are unicameral. In India, 6 states and 2 Union
Territories have unicameral legislature.

The Nigerian National Assembly

In Nigeria, the National Assembly represents the Legislature. The National Assembly of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria is a bicameral legislature established under section 4 of the Nigerian Constitution.
It consists of a Senate with 109 members and a 360-member

House of Representatives
The body, modelled after the federal Congress of the United States, is supposed to guarantee equal
representation of the 36 states irrespective of size in the Senate and proportional representation of
population in the House. The National Assembly, like many other organs of the Nigerian government,
is based in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

FUNCTIONS OF A LEGISLATURE
1. Legislative or Law-making Functions:
The first and foremost function of a legislature is to legislate i.e. to make laws. In ancient times, laws
used to be either derived from customs, traditions and religious scriptures, or were issued by the kings
as their commands. However, in the contemporary era of democracy, legislature is the chief source of
law. It is the legislature which formulates the will of the state into laws and gives it a legal character.
Legislature transforms the demands of the people into authoritative laws/statutes.

2. Deliberative Functions:
To deliberate upon matters of national importance, public issues, problems and needs is an important
function of a modern legislature. Through this function, the legislature reflects the public opinion over
various issues. The debates held in the legislature have a great educative value for the people.

3. Custodian of National Finances:

A near universal rule is that “the legislature of the state is the custodian of national purse.” It holds the
purse of the nation and controls the finances. No money can be raised or spent by the executive
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without the approval of the legislature. Each year the executive has to prepare and get passed from the
legislature the budget for the coming financial year. In the budget, the executive has to place the
account of the actual income and expenditure of the previous year and estimated income and
expenditure for the New Year.
Not only the legislature passes the budget but also it alone can approve the imposition, or repeal or
collection of any tax whatsoever. Further, the legislature maintains a control over all financial
transactions and expenditures incurred by the executive.

4. Control over the Executive:

A modern legislature has the power to exercise control over the executive. In a parliamentary system
of government, like the one which is at work in India, for all its actions, decisions, and policies, the
executive is collectively responsible before the legislature. It is accountable before the legislature. The
legislature has the power to remove the executive by passing a vote of no-confidence or by rejecting a
policy or budget or law of the executive.
The Prime Minister and all other ministers are essentially the members of the legislature. They are
bound by the rules and procedures of the Parliament.
In a Presidential form of government, like the one which is at work in the USA, the legislature
exercises some checks over the executive. It can appoint investigation committees to probe the
functioning of government departments. By the use of its power to legislate and pass the budget, the
legislature exercises a fair amount of control over the executive. Thus, whether a political system has a
parliamentary system or a presidential system, the legislature exercises a control over the executive.

5. Constituent Functions:
In almost every state, it is the legislature which has the power to amend the constitution. For this
purpose legislature has to pass special laws, called amendments, in accordance with the procedure laid
down in the Constitution. In some states the requirement is that the legislature must pass the
amendment with 2/3rd or 3/4th or an absolute majority of votes.

6. Electoral Functions:
A legislature usually performs some electoral functions. The two houses of the Indian Parliament elect
the Vice-President. All elected MPs and MLAs form the Electoral College which elects the President
of India. In Switzerland, the Federal Legislature elects the members of the Federal Council
(Executive) and the Federal Tribunal (Judiciary).

7. Judicial Functions:
It is customary to give some judicial power to the legislature. Usually, the legislature is assigned to act
as a court of impeachment i.e. as an investigating court for trying high public officials on charges of
treason, misdemeanor and high crimes and remove them from office. In India, the Union Parliament
can impeach the President. It has also the power to pass a resolution for the removal of Judges of the
Supreme Court and of the High Court’s on the ground of misbehavior or incapacity.

8. Ventilation of Grievances:
A legislature acts as the highest forum for ventilation of public grievances against the executive.
Besides representing every interest and shade of opinion, the legislature acts as the national forum for
expressing public opinion, public grievances and public aspirations. Parliamentary debates and
discussions throw a flood light over various issues of public importance.

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9. Miscellaneous Functions:
Some legislatures are assigned specific executive tasks. For example, the US Senate (Upper House of
US Legislature) has the power to confirm or reject the major appointments made by the US President.
Likewise, it enjoys the power to ratify or reject treaties made by the US President. In India, the Rajya
Sabha has been given the power to establish or eliminate any All India Service. Legislatures also
perform the function of approving or rejecting or amending all the policies and plans made by the
executive. In the US Constitution, the Congress (Legislature) enjoys the power to declare war.
In summary, the functions of legislature are
1. The primary function of the legislature is law making. A bill undergoes a rigorous process in
the legislature before it is passed into law.
2. The legislature supervises the executive.
3. They also control public expenditure and the imposition of taxation.
4. It has the power to remove the executive. This is done through a vote of censure in a
presidential system.
5. Legislators represent opinions and interest of their constituents.
6. Legislators approve the appointment by the executives of ministers and ambassadors in a
presidential system.
7. The legislature ratifies judicial appointments of the executive.

THE EXECUTIVE
The executive is the branch of government that is responsible for the day-to-day management of the
state. Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the executive is not supposed to make laws (role
of the legislature), nor to interpret them (role of the judiciary). The executive is supposed to put the
laws into action.
The executive is led by the head of Government. The Head of Government is assisted by a number of
ministers, who usually have responsibilities for particular areas (e.g. health, education, foreign affairs),
and by a large number of government employees or civil servants.
The legislature enacts the laws and the executive implements them. In ancient times the executive
(Monarch and Council of Ministers) used to make the implement laws and it also awarded
punishment to the law-breakers.
But today the monarchy has been abolished to a great extent and democracy has taken its place. Thus
the executive has no power to make laws, to implement them and to punish those who violate the
laws. The laws are now made by the legislature; the executive implements them and the judiciary
awards punishments for the violation of the laws.
Dr. Garner while explaining the meaning of the executive said, “In a broad and collective sense the
executive organ embraces the aggregate or totality of all the functionaries which are concerned with
the execution of the will of the State as that will has been formulated and expressed in terms of law”.
Generally, the term executive is used in a narrow senses and it includes the head of the State and his
Council of Ministers, who are required to implement the laws and make policies for running the
administration of the State.
In the Westminster political system, the principle of separation of powers is not as entrenched.
Members of the executive, called ministers, are also members of the legislature, and hence play an
important part in both the writing and enforcing of law.

In this context, the executive consists of a leader(s) of an office or multiple offices. Specifically, the
top leadership roles of the executive branch may include:
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  Head of state – often the supreme leader, the president or monarch, the chief public
representative and living symbol of national unity.
 Head of government – often the de facto leader, prime minister, overseeing the
administration of all affairs of state.
 Defence minister – overseeing the armed forces, determining military policy and
managing external safety.
 Interior minister – overseeing the police forces, enforcing the law and managing internal
safety.
 Foreign minister – overseeing the diplomatic service, determining foreign policy and
managing foreign relations.
 Finance minister – overseeing the treasury, determining fiscal policy and managing
national budget.
 Justice minister – overseeing criminal prosecutions, corrections, enforcement of court
orders.
In a presidential system, the leader of the executive is both the head of state and head of
government. In a parliamentary system, a cabinet minister responsible to the legislature is the
head of government, while the head of state is usually a largely ceremonial monarch or president.

TYPES OF EXECUTIVE
Modern executive represents different viewpoints. We give below the various forms of executive
which are functioning in a large number of countries of the world:
1. Nominal and Real Executive:
In many countries the Head of the State has nominal powers, as in Great Britain, Japan,
Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium and Holland. In these countries, the powers of the
Monarch are exercised by his ministers. Thus there is nominal executive in these countries.
Contrary to this, under the Constitution of the U.S.A., the President has been given many
powers and he himself exercises these powers.
Therefore, there is real executive in America. Though the President of India has been given
many powers in the Constitution, yet in actual practice these powers are exercised by his
ministers. Thus there is nominal executive in India.

2. Single and Plural types of Executives:

Single executive means that all executive powers are vested in one Head of the State, e.g., the
President of America exercises all executive powers. In Switzerland, the executive power is not
in the hands of only one individual, but in the hands of a Council of seven members. The
Chairman of this Council has no additional powers. Thus all the seven members are equally
responsible for the administration in that country. This type of Swiss executive is called Plural
Executive.

3. Parliamentary and Presidential Types of Executive:

In Parliamentary executive the Cabinet is responsible to the legislature. This system is
functioning in England, France, Japan, Sri lanka, India, West Germany, Italy, Sweden,
Denmark, Norway, Belgium and Holland. Where the President is the Head of the State and
he has real executive powers and is not responsible to the Parliament, the system will be
known as the Presidential type of executive. This system is functioning in the United States of
America. Brazil and some countries of South America. The President is elected for a fixed term
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 in these countries and he can be removed only through an impeachment.

4. Hereditary and Elective Executive:

When a king is the Head of the State and when after his death his son or, in case of his being
issueless, some of his near relative occupies the throne, the system is called hereditary
executive. This type of executive is functioning in England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark,
Belgium, Holland, Japan and Nepal.
In countries where the Head of State is elected either by the people or by their representatives,
the system is called Elective Executive. We find this system in India, France, West Germany,
Italy, the United States of America, Austria, Pakistan, Egypt, etc.

Dictatorship
When the entire powers of the nation are in the hands of one person, it is called Dictatorship. The
dictator wields power with the help of a particular party or army and later on he becomes all in all in
that country. After World War 1(1914-18), Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany became dictators.
In the Second World War (1939-45) Germany and Italy were defeated and the dictatorship came to an
end. Today democratic governments are functioning there. In Spain, General Franco established his
Dictatorship.
In Soviet Union, China, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, the dictatorship
of the Communist Party has been established and no opposition party can be formed there.

FUNCTIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE

1. The primary function of the executive is to implement government policies and programmes
and enforce public laws.
2. The executive formulates policies and laws, which are submitted to the legislature for debate
and approval.
3. The executive makes law under delegated legislation. The legislature give power to the
executive on well defined matters to make rules that are very complex and technical and
require specialist knowledge, and in matters requiring urgent treatment. Powers of delegated
legislation are also exercised by the executive to ease the heavy legislature burden of the
legislature.
4. The executive symbolizes the state and performs ceremonial functions such as taking salute
during state ceremonies.
5. The executive gives political leadership to the government.
6. The structure sends and receives diplomatic representatives, negotiates international treaties
and agreements and formulates foreign policies.
7. The executive is in charge of the armed forces and possess the power to declare and wage war
and proclaim a state of martial law.

JUDICIARY
The judiciary is one of the organs or branches of government whose primary function or task is the
discovery of the facts, the interpretation and application of laws, as well as the constitution in cases of
disputes between or among individuals in the state. The members of the judiciary are the Bar
Association, comprising of lawyers and the bench, as well as Magistrates and Judges.
The relationship between the judiciary and other branches of government varies from state to state.
Judiciary is seen as the legal institution that protects the interest of the citizens in the state especially
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the law courts.

FUNCTIONS OF THE JUDICIARY

1. Interpretation of the law:
It is the function of the judiciary to see that the laws made by the judiciary are properly
interpreted. Through the judicial interpretation of the law, it will be possible for the ignorant to
understand the law and be able to obey the law of the state.

2. Punishment of the offenders:

One of the primary functions of the judiciary is to punish those who violate the law. If a person
breaks the law he will be prosecuted in the law court and if found guilty, will be punished
accordingly.

3. Enforcing the judicial process:

The judiciary employs various means of enforcing its own processes and orders. For instance,
any person disobeying an injunction may automatically be held in contempt of court and
sentenced without any jury trial.

4. Judicial review:
The most impressive function a judiciary may possess is that of judicial review, the power to
determine the constitutionality of the law.

5. Do not act ultra vires:

The judiciary ensures that the executive and the legislature do not exceed their powers.
Meanwhile, the judiciary may declare a law made by the executive and legislature ‘ultra-vires’
if such law goes against the constitution of the state. Thereby declaring such law or laws
unconstitutional, null and void, and of no effect.

6. Maintenance of peace and order:

Another important functions of the judiciary ids the maintenance of peace and order, protection
of life, adequate security in the state. This is done through the exercise of equity, law and
application of steps to prevent damages or infliction in the society.

REFERENCE
 Three Arms of Government and Their Functions
 https://bscholarly.com/functions-of-the-arms-of-government/no
 Legislature: Meaning, Functions and Types of Legislature
https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/constitution/legislature-meaning-functions-and-types-of-
legislature/40337
 Functions Of Legislature
https://www.politicalsciencenotes.com/articles/top-9-functions-of-legislature-discussed/332
 Meaning, Types and Functions of the Executive Organ of the Government
 https://www.politicalsciencenotes.com/articles/meaning-types-and-functions-of-the-executive-
organ-of-the-government/344
 Judiciary | Functions & Structure of Nigeria Judiciary
 https://www.walyben.com/judiciary-functions-structure-of-nigeria-judiciary/