BUREAUCRACY AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY: A STUDY OF THE SENATE DIRECTORATE 2015–2019

CHAPTER ONE  

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study: The aim of this research is to critically examine, assess and evaluate bureaucracy and service delivery in the National Assembly (A Case study of Senate Directorate from 2015-2019) the National Assembly Senate Directorate (Bureaucracy) in the delivery of efficient and effective services to the Senators of the Eight Senate. The National Assembly is the law making arm of the government of Nigeria. Section 4 (1)(2)(3) of the 1999 constitution, as amended, confers on the National Assembly the powers to make Laws, which it must exercise for the peace, order and good governance of the  federation.  The legislature in any democracy plays a vital role in checking the excesses of the Executive, in order to ensure probity in the conduct of government business and also to entrench accountability from the government to the governed (Hamalai, 2011). The Nigerian National Assembly like any other private or public organization depends on an effective and efficient bureaucracy to deliver on its mandate of law making, oversight and representation.  Section 51 of the 1999 Constitution provides for the creation of the National Assembly bureaucracy. It provides that:

“There shall be a Clerk to the National Assembly and such other staff as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly, and the method of appointment of the Clerk and other staff of the National Assembly shall be as prescribed by the Act” (Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette, 2011).

The National Assembly is staffed with officers that provide the basic support services such as

Management of Finances and Expenditure, Chamber, Official Reporting, Legal, Information and Communication, Medical, Maintenance, Printing, Library and Research Services and so on. The extent, to which the legislature is able to carry out its responsibilities, depends largely on an effective, efficient, proactive and result oriented bureaucrats that will provide the Legislature with adequate support services to enable it discharge its constitutional responsibilities.

The purpose of this study is to critically assess and evaluate the National Assembly Senate

Directorate in the delivery of efficient and effective services to the Senator of the Eight Senate.

1.2 Statement of the Research Problem

The National Assembly is a very important institution which role is crucial to the peace and good governance in Nigeria.  The Senate Directorate provides a host of services to the

Senators as clearly outlined in the National Assembly Management Profile Handbook (2014).  

Consequently, the researcher intends to assess the role played by the bureaucrats of the Senate Directorate in service delivery to eighth Senate.  

1.3 Research Questions

In the light of the statement of the research problem, the following research questions are raised:

1. What are the contributions of the Senate Directorate to the Eight Senate?

2. Are there adequate human and material resources available to the Senate Directorate?

3. What are the challenges affecting the Senate Directorate?

4. How well had the Senate of 8th Assembly impacted on nation building?

5. Did Senate legislation on motions, bills impact positively?

1.4 Research Objectives

The broad objective of this study is to examine the performance of the Senate Directorate in the delivery of effective and efficient support services to the Senators in the Eight Assembly.

Specifically, the objectives of the study are to

1. examine the contributions of the Senate Directorate to the Eight Senate;

2. determine the adequacy of human and material resources available to the Senate Directorate;

3. examine the challenges of the Senate Directorate in performing their support services;

1.5 Scope of the Study

This work focussed on the performance of the National Assembly Senate Bureaucracy in providing support services to the Senators in the Eighth Senate.  Therefore, it concentrated on the Directorate from 2015-2018

1.6 Significance of the Study

This study is of immense significance because it will facilitate a good understanding on the activities of the National Assembly Senate Directorate. It will also contribute to the on-going public sector reform as it assesses the performance of the National Assembly Senate Directorate in providing effective support services to the Senators in the Eight Senate. In the same light, it will contribute to the literature on the effective service delivery in the Legislature as well as help fill gaps in the current level of service delivery in the National Assembly. And lastly, it will serve as a reference material for students, stakeholders, media houses and other well-meaning Nigerians and the world at large who intend to carry out study on the National Assembly Senate Directorate for better understanding.

1.7 Operational Definition of Terms

For better understanding of some terms used in the study, the operational meanings of the words are as follows:-

1.7.1 Bureaucracy

Bureaucracy according to Routledge (1976) consists of that large group of officials who perform defined functions in the public interest and are on the public pay roll. In an ideal typical case, the bureaucrat has the attributes of impartiality, expert knowledge and obedience to superiors. His duty is to comply with the rules and regulation and endeavor to execute the orders from his/her superior. Bureaucracy in this study means all staff in the National Assembly Senate directorate providing one service or the other.

1.7.2 Service Delivery

This refers to meeting the needs of customers by an individual or group of individual working for an organization.  Service delivery in the context of this study refers to meeting the legislative needs of the legislators elected into the Legislature.

1.7.3 Legislature 

The legislature is the arm of government charged with the responsibility of law making, representation and oversight functions over executive body. (Hamalai, 2011).

1.7.4 Committee

A Committee is a sub-division of the Senate established to aid the parent body in the preparation and detailed examination of draft laws or other matters for consideration by the upper chamber. It also assists in carrying out investigations on matters or issues referred to it, and make recommendations to the Chamber for final approval. (Hamalai, 2011).

1.7.5 Political Functionaries

These are the elected politicians in the National Assembly. They include the Senators and Members of the House of Representatives (Hamalai, 2011).

1.7.6 Administration Functionaries

These are the support staff that provide the services required and also operate the facilities to enable Legislators to efficiently perform their functions (Hamalai, 2011). 

1.8   Limitations of the Study

There are quite a number of limitations to this study.  The population of the study was large and consequently the sample size ought to have been higher but a conveniently lower sample size was used to enable the Researcher complete the work on schedule and within available resources. On the other hand, some of the respondents did not fill the questionnaires, compelling the Researcher to leave them out.  Furthermore, the Researcher kept following Respondents who have completed the questionnaires day after day before retrieving them; this was not easy considering the tight work schedules of the Researcher.  Similarly, there was unevenness in the distribution of the questionnaire between the Respondents’ sexs as well as dearth of materials on bureaucracy and service delivery as it concerns the National Assembly and particularly the Eighth Senate Directorate.

1.9 Organization of the Study

The study is made up of five chapters. Chapter one covers the background to the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, scope of the study, significance of the study and definition of operational terms.  Chapter two deals with literature review and theoretical framework while Chapter three discusses the methodology adopted for the study. In this Chapter, issues like research design, method of data collection, method of data analysis, sources of data, population of the study, sample size and sampling techniques were discussed. Also, Chapter four deals with data presentation, analysis and discussion of findings. Finally, Chapter five contains the summary, conclusion and recommendations of the study.