Legislative Turnover in a New Democracy: An Insight from The Nigerian National Assembly (1999-2019)
Legislative Turnover in a New Democracy: An Insight from The Nigerian National Assembly (1999-2019)

Summary/Abstract: One of the major challenges threatening the institutionalization of the legislature in Nigeria, following the return of civilian rule in 1999 is the high rate of legislator turnover. This turnover results in the erosion and weakening of institutional memory, slow rate of membership maturity, incompetence of the legislators and general legislative development. Nigerian legislators are some of the highest paid in the world and this serves as incentive that motivates the majority of incumbents to seek re-election. Yet, only a few of the 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives get re-elected after serving one or two terms. Thus, this study examines the electoral stage at which incumbent members exit the national assembly. In other words, do incumbent legislators exit or lose their seat in the assembly due to electoral defeat during party primaries (intra-party contest)? Is the high turnover resulting from the defeat of many incumbent members in the general election (inter-party contest)? To answer these questions, we generated data from secondary sources, and analyzed them using qualitative analysis and descriptive statistics. This study covers five electoral cycles and argues that more members often exit during primaries than the general elections due to intense intra-party competition, stronger challengers, and the influence of the state governors. The turnover rate is therefore generally high in Nigeria.

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