Executive-Legislative Relations in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: Ondo and Ekiti States in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This paper examines the nature of executive-legislative relations in Ondo and Ekiti states in the Fourth Republic. It interrogates the incessant antagonisms and confrontations between the legislative and executive arms of government in the two states within the ambit of the sociocultural milieu and institutional contexts peculiar to them. Using a combination of analytical and descriptive methods, the paper draws data from both primary and secondary sources and relies on historical approach and system theory as frameworks of analysis to establish the peculiarities of the elites’ behaviour in the exercise of power as the major factor responsible for the varied experiences of the two states in executive-legislative relations. The findings show that the particularistic nature of the governing elites and the varying roles and degrees of intervention by political parties were major determinants of the intensity of the executive-legislative conflicts in the two states. The paper recommends the adoption of a cooperative approach and dialogue through judicial means as a way of settling disputes between the two arms of government especially when negotiation fails.