Global Journal of HUMAN-SOCIAL SCIENCE: F Political Science Volume 16 Issue 1 Version 1.0 Year 2016 Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal Publisher: Global Journals Inc. (USA) Online ISSN: 2249-460x & Print ISSN: 0975-587X Political Party Rebellion, Legislative Politics and Balance of Power in the 8th National Assembly of Nigeria By Peter Mbah & Anthony Egobueze University of Nigeria, Nigeria Abstract- The issue of equitable power sharing in the All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled federal legislature has been very contentious in the 8th National Assembly of Nigeria. This paper analyses the legislative politics and politics of office distribution in Nigeria focusing on how elite struggles for power and influence shape the internal conflicts and implementation of zoning principles in the National Assembly. Legislatures evolve and develop internally in reaction to broader political environment. Zoning and rotation principle are part of a democratic culture used to address the problems inherent in a plural society of underdeveloped states. The zoning principle is structured to deliberately ensure some degree of diversity. This is indispensable to the maintenance of the Nigerian State due to its diversity in ethnicity, religion, language, education, etc. This article analyses the conflicts arising from an attempt to change the zoning principle and office distribution imbedded in the federal character principle in Nigeria. It focuses on how elite struggle for power and money shape the conception, implementation, and continuity of zoning of offices and positions in order to maintain ethnic balancing. The article adopts a methodology involving qualitative research based on a review of published literature. Keywords: zoning, federal character, senate, internal conflict, national assembly. GJHSS-F Classification : FOR Code: 160699 PoliticalPartyRebellionLegislativePoliticsandBalanceofPowerinthe 8thNationalAssemblyofNigeria Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of: © 2016. Peter Mbah & Anthony Egobueze. This is a research/review paper, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Political Party Rebellion, Legislative Politics and Balance of Power in the 8th National Assembly of Nigeria Peter Mbah α & Anthony Egobueze σ Abstract- The issue of equitable power sharing in literature on legislature as an organ of government, the All Progressives Congress (APC) controlled federal legislative behavior and legislative conflicts within the th legislature has been very contentious in the 8 National legislature itself in Nigeria. Compared with the advanced 2016 Assembly of Nigeria. This paper analyses the legislative Western democracies, literature on Nigerian legislature politics and politics of office distribution in Nigeria focusing on ear is not as rich as those of the western world. Many Y how elite struggles for power and influence shape the internal conflicts and implementation of zoning principles in the reasons accounted for this. First, most of the available National Assembly. Legislatures evolve and develop internally historical accounts of the role of colonial legislatures 7 in reaction to broader political environment. Zoning and were actual documentation of the British. rotation principle are part of a democratic culture used to In spite of the strategic importance of the address the problems inherent in a plural society of legislature, adequate and scientific explanations to the underdeveloped states. The zoning principle is structured to conflicts within the two chambers especially in the deliberately ensure some degree of diversity. This is Senate have not been given considerable academic indispensable to the maintenance of the Nigerian State due to attention. Political analysts and academics rarely focus its diversity in ethnicity, religion, language, education, etc. This attention on scientific explanation of the conflicts article analyses the conflicts arising from an attempt to change the zoning principle and office distribution imbedded in the between the Senate and the House of Representatives federal character principle in Nigeria. It focuses on how elite or within any one of them in Nigeria (Mbah, 2014:677). struggle for power and money shape the conception, When we speak of politics, we refer to all implementation, and continuity of zoning of offices and activities that are directly or indirectly associated with the positions in order to maintain ethnic balancing. The article emergence, consolidation and use or exercise of state adopts a methodology involving qualitative research based on power (Nnoli, 2003:12). The state is its centerpiece and ) a review of published literature. The study recommended the th F it refers to what the politicians do. The 8 Legislative ( reintroduction of zoning principle for maintaining zonal session of the National Assembly began in 9th of June, Volume XVI Issue I Version equilibrium as a modality for ethnic diversity balancing and 2015. Legislators had arrived in Abuja for their management. Keywords: zoning, federal character, senate, internal inauguration session and were faced with how to elect conflict, national assembly. the principal officers of the Assembly, maintaining zoning balance and myriad of other problems and I. Introduction issues relating to the Nigerian economy. The elections - egislatures are the heart of any democratic of Senator Bukola Saraki of All Progressives Congress government across the world and are not static (APC) the majority party in the Assembly, Senator Ike institutions. It is the yardstick for measuring the Ekweremadu and Senator David Mark of People’s L Democratic Party (PDP) as Senate President, Deputy views of the people in a democracy (Egobueze, 2013:2). They evolve and develop internally in reaction to broader Senate President and Senate Leader respectively means political environment (Rotimi, 1988; Forgette, 1997). As that a larger-than-usual deception is being carried out political institution, it is seen as an important organ used and also the elections of Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara and to address the important question of unity and stability Hon. Lasun Yusuf (APC) as Speaker and Deputy in any given society. However, this historic role played Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively, is by the legislature has not attracted much attention, not an unusual event in the annals of Nigeria’s political Global Journal of Human Social Science unlike the executive and the judiciary especially in the history. In other words, the politics inside the legislative house is not new. However, the emergence of the developing countries like Nigeria. This development th according to Boyton and Kim (1975) ‘may be attributed leadership of the 8 National Assembly has thrown up many issues which have generated conflicts and crisis to the nature of legislative office that is neither the owner of the purse or the sword’. There seems to be little within the APC and the Assembly. This has put into debate the merits and faults of majoritarian and party Author α: PhD, Department of Political Science University of Nigeria, theories to explain legislative actions. Nsukka. e-mail: [email protected] Author σ: PhD, Rivers State House of Assembly, Moscow Road, Port Mbah, (2014:678) argues that many scholars Harcourt. e-mail: [email protected] and social commentators see the prevalent explanations ©2016 Global Journals Inc. (US) Political Party Rebellion, Legislative Politics and Balance of Power in the 8th National Assembly of Nigeria of the conflicts in the National Assembly as part of principle as a balance of power mechanism reinforces unavoidable teething problems of a nascent democracy. the conflictive and rancorous relationships within the Also, Haber, (citation needed) argues that in some APC controlled National Assembly, especially the African countries, the legislature remains young with Senate. This strand of analysis is central in framing our stunt growth and fragility due to the devastating problematique for the conflict in the Senate Chamber. In consequences of wars, conflict and dictatorship. reality, APC intra-legislative conflicts are not as a result Conflicts within the National Assembly are not merely of a different party controlling the two legislative arms, the result of the learning process of the new democratic being in minority in the Assembly or in the Senate, process. It is assumed that legislators will realize the co- learning process and on the issue of principle and ordinate characters within National Assembly and, dedication to good legislation by standing on both sides therefore, the desideration of cooperative work. There of public interest, but, however, reflect a great deal of are other reasons advanced that sound rhetoric party rebellion and insistence by some members in favouring one chamber or the other and this has maintaining the zoning principle. The significance of this 2016 accumulated in both the popular press and the writings study is that first, it could serve as an experimental of political scientists. Much of this rhetoric revolves control for testing some assumptions underlying the ear Y around the legitimacy of disagreement between the study of legislative conflicts in Africa particularly those Senate and House of Representatives. In many positing a