IJSRP, Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2017 Edition [ISSN 2250-3153]
Lawrence, Ethelbert Okey
Abstract:
Nigerian is confronted with an array of challenges which threaten its survival. One of these is corruption, especially within the legislature, given the fact that this arm of government is the lamp of the society, any calculated action, or omission from it, has significant impact on the general outlook of the country. Corruption is viral as such combating it is persistently proving difficult. However, laudable achievements have been recorded by the legislature but regrettably, the ugly incidences of corruption in the system is grossly beclouding these strides. Generally, corruption brings about economic backwardness, political instability, social insecurity, infrastructural decay, negation of the principle of law, etc. Based largely on secondary data, findings reveal that the consequences of corruption on the legislature in Nigeria includes bills that are not entirely beneficial to Nigerians have been passed into law in order to please the executive, political patronage, partisanship, and primordial sentiments characterise legislative activities; negating the principle of check and balance between the three arms of government. It is recommended among others that corrupt individuals should not be part of the legislature; the emolument of political office holders at all tiers of government should be made public; effective laws to check the excesses of legislators and all political office-holders in Nigeria be put in place as a matter of urgency; The Nigerian federation be restructured in order to deal with the psychology of national cake sharing which breeds corruption in governance and holding forth honesty and integrity in the discharge of legislative constitutional responsibilities.