The Law making process is also known as the Bill process

Introduction
In a Presidential system of Government, the process of law making generally
requires a long period of deliberation and consideration of many interests and
implications of a Bill.

A Bill is simply defined as a draft of a proposed law. They are generally of two types:
Private and Public Bills. Private Bills affect private citizens, corporate entities or a
particular class of people.

Sources of Legislative Proposals

Individual Members: When Members are elected to legislative assembly,

1. They usually come to house to legislate on promises made during their

campaign.

2. They have ideas on what their constituency, local government or state needs
and what is best for the nation.

3. Their ideas are frequently transformed into legislation that appears among the
thousands of measures that are introduced in the first weeks of a new
legislative assembly (i.e. 9th Assembly) and throughout the four (4) years.

4. Legislation can also be included in so-called omnibus measures.

5. Members also initiate legislation following extended visits to their constituents

after seeing and assessing needs firsthand.

Committee and Subcommittees:

1. Committees and subcommittees charged by House or Senate rules with

legislating, studying and reviewing, and investigating specific policy areas
make their own legislative proposals.

2. House and Senate committees identify needs for legislation and are crucial in
recommending that such legislation be introduced.

3. By the time of the bill’s introduction, the appropriate committee is well

prepared to continue its work.

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Informal Groups:

1. In addition to the numerous committees and subcommittees, there is a myriad

of informal groups of Members with interests in a particular issue or region of
the country.

2. These groups study issues and lobby for the enactment of specific policies.
For example,
a. The legislative Minority or Opposition Caucus and
b. The legislative Caucus for Women’s Issues
c. Political Parties Caucus
d. Regional/ethnic Caucus

3. They are usually active in promoting causes and initiating legislation.

4. Recent freshman classes have also been recognized as cohesive in their

policy pursuits.

Executive Branch:

1. The Constitution of Nigeria grants to the President the power to propose

legislation. At the beginning of each year, in a televised State of the Nation
Message, the President addresses house and the nation in the House joint
session of the Senate and Representatives’ to announce budget proposal
(Appropriation Bill).

2. Throughout the year, through executive messages and policy proposals,

among other ways, the President converts the broad concepts into specific
legislative ideas for legislature’s consideration.

3. Many proposals grow out of campaign issues and reflect the policy initiatives
that may have led to the President’s election.

4. Many others reflect the recommendations of his Cabinet and other executive
branch policy advisers as they determine new authority or reforms needed
related to existing laws.

State and Local Government:

1. Although autonomous from the national legislature, state and local

governments often look to Congress for assistance in solving local problems.

2. This aid is often monetary, but occasionally it may take the form of federal
regulations affecting local activities.

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 3. For example, in the case of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the needs of the
locality are met through legislation providing funds, but also requiring that
certain national standards be met.

4. National legislators attempt to design such legislation in a fashion that favors

conditions in their state or district.

Supreme Court:

1. Constitutionality, the highest court in the nation interprets the laws Legislative
Assembly passes.

2. Legislation ruled unconstitutional by the court, or policy decisions or directives

made by the Court in its rulings, often find their way back to the House’s
agenda in the form of new legislative proposals. INEC v Musa, AG Ondo v
AGF (ICPC Act 2002), etc

Foreign Governments:

1. Congress serves a foreign as well as a domestic policy function.

2. The Senate is constitutionally charged with advice and consent on

appointment of ambassadors and ratification of treaties with foreign
governments.

3. The ratification and domestication of treaty AFCHPR Abacha v Fawehinmi

4. The needs of individual countries and global regions are addressed in

Congress as legislative proposals.

Constituents:

1. Members of the National Assembly serve legislative and representative

functions.

2. As representatives, they seek to address the needs of their constituents

through the legislative process.

3. Constituents’ ideas often find their way into legislation (i.e. Constituency
projects).

4. Because reelection is so closely tied to taking care of constituents, many of

their demands are translated into legislation, especially when they affect many
individuals and more than one district or state.

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Advocacy and Lobby Groups:

1. It is generally believed among Congress watchers that there exists an interest

group for almost every issue before the Congress.

2. Many of these groups seek to influence decision making once legislation is

introduced;

3. Others seek to influence the legislative agenda itself, including which

measures should be considered and which should be kept off the agenda.

4. In addition to providing legislative proposals, these groups actively seek

action on them.

Press:

1. The press is a potent watchdog for the legislature and an equally potent
advocate for the citizenry.

Ideas raised in the media, especially local media, elicit serious consideration by
Members.

The Law Making Process

Stages a bill passes through to become a law:

A Bill generally passes through four stages, which include three readings before it is
passed into law. However, there are certain instances where this procedure is not
strictly followed.

First Reading
1. The introduction of a bill is the same as its First Reading.

2. When the Bill is introduced, the Clerk of the House reads the short title and
gives a brief statement and background on the Bill.

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 3. The Rules and Business Committee then sets a date for its Second Reading.

Second Reading
1. The second reading is the stage where the bill’s general merits and principles
are debated.

2. If the bill is read the second time, the House is deemed to have approved the
bill in principle.

3. If, on the other hand, the bill is defeated on the floor of the chambers at the
second reading, that will be the end of the bill.

4. Note that when the Bill is read a second time, it is referred to a Standing
Committee unless a decision is made to commit it to the Committee of the
Whole House for consideration.

Committee Stage
1. Following the second reading, bills are submitted to the relevant committees
for further consideration and public hearings where necessary.

2. The committee may approve the bill unaltered, amend it, rewrite it or even
block it.

3. However, the practice in Nigeria is that the committee should not kill a bill, but
rather, report its findings and recommendations to the House for further
action.

Report Stage
1. When the Committee is done with the Bill, it presents its report to the House
2. If it is adopted, the Bill progresses to Third Reading.

Third Reading
1. At the third reading, the member in charge of the bill reports to the House that
the Committee of the Whole has considered the bill and passed it with or
without amendment and moves a motion that “the bill be now read the third
time.”

2. Note that when a bill originating in either of the Chambers has been read the
third time, a Clean Copy of the bill signed by the Clerk, and endorsed by the
Presiding Officer of the originating Chamber, shall be forwarded by its Clerk to
the Clerk of the other Chamber, with a message that it desires its
concurrence.

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 a. Where amendments proposed by the originating chamber are accepted
by the other chamber, then the Clerk of the other chamber, retains the
bill and sends a message to the originating chamber “that the Senate
or House of Representatives, as the case may be, has agreed to
the bill without amendments”

b. Where however the other chamber does not agree with the originating
chamber on the bill; or agrees to the bill, but with its own amendments;

i. A conference or harmonization committee will be constituted

comprising members of both chambers with the duty of
reconciling differences on the bill and proposing a single position
that would be adopted by the plenary of each Chamber.

ii. After the recommendations of the conference committee are

adopted, the bill then moves on to the assent stage.

Assent Stage
1. Here, the Clerk of the National Assembly sends a copy of the “clean bill” to
the President for assent.

2. If the President is satisfied with the bill, he gives his assent,

3. Where he rejects or vetoes it, or does not communicate his assent to the bill
within 30 days from the date the bill was sent to him, the National Assembly
by a two-thirds majority vote can override the veto.

It is important to note however that there are unique procedures for passing specific
types of bills such as the Appropriations Bill or National Budget and a bill seeking to
amend the Constitution.

Passing the NATIONAL BUDGET

What is a Budget?
1. A budget is a financial plan of action directly linked to government strategies,
policies, plans and priorities.
2.
Government budgets provide strategic estimates for capital expenditure,
recurrent expenditure and revenue generation.

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 3. The National Assembly has the duty to prepare bills to secure money for the
running of government and also to disburse these monies. Bills touching on
these are referred to as “Money Bills”

Section 59 (1) of the Constitution defines Money Bills to

include:

(a): an appropriation bill or a supplementary appropriation

bill; or

(b): a bill for the payment, issue or withdrawal from the

Consolidated Revenue Fund; • etc

Passing the National Budget

1. Sections 80 - 81 and 120 - 121 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 grants the
National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly the powers to authorize
withdrawal from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to meet government
expenditure

2. Tied to this is the Legislature’s “Power of the Purse” which means that the
government can only spend money for purposes authorized by the
Legislature.

3. The exercise of this power is seen in the appropriations or budget process, in

the next section.

Constitutionally, the President or his appointee is required to deliver an annual

budget speech to kick-start the budget process.
1. However, before then, there are two processes which must be embarked
upon by the Executive.

i. Preparation of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework & Fiscal

Strategy Paper by the Executive and

ii. Sending of a Draft Appropriation Bill and accompanying Draft

Estimates to the National Assembly

Steps in passing the Budget

Bill Introduction
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 1. The legislative process begins with the President’s “budget speech”
delivered at the presentation of the Appropriations Bill to a joint sitting of
both Houses of the National Assembly.

2. This speech is taken as the Bill’s First Reading.

3. Thereafter, the Rules and Business Committee sets the date for second
reading.

Second Reading and Committee Stage

1. At the second reading, the Bill is debated at different sittings of each House
and referred to their relevant Committees for investigation.

2. In the stages following the 2nd Reading, the National Assembly’s unique
budget procedure comes into play. HERE:

i. The Committee on Appropriations takes over and coordinates the

whole process.

ii. Also, each Standing Committee transforms into a Sub-Committee of

the Appropriations Committee; and is given charge over the Heads of
Estimates of the Ministry for which it has oversight responsibilities.

iii. While the Appropriation Bill itself goes to the Committee on

Appropriations, the Heads of Estimates, which details the expenditure
requests, go to the said sub-committees.

iv. Sub-Committees may invite the relevant Ministries for budget defence.

v. After deliberations, the Sub-Committees report their findings to the

Appropriations Committee.

vi. A clean copy of the Sub-Committees’ Report is then prepared for

presentation on the Floor of the House.

vii. Following this, the Rules and Business Committee sets a date for
presentation.

viii. The Report is presented and copies circulated to all Members.

ix. At the same time, the Chairman of the Rules and Business Committee
sets the date the Report will be formally considered by the House in
question as one Committee.

x. For the consideration of the Report, the House or Senate resolves itself
into a “Committee of the Whole House, or Senate” as the case may be,
to pass resolutions on each item of the Head of Estimates.

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 xi. For this purpose, the “Committee of the Whole” is referred to as the
“Committee of Supply” and presided over by the Speaker or Senate
President or their Deputies. Here, each item of expenditure for each
ministry is considered one after the other and any change adopted
during consideration must be effected before the third reading.

Report Stage and third Reading

1. After this is the Report Stage where the Appropriations Committee submits for
adoption,

2. Its final report containing a summary of amendments agreed to by the House

and the amount approved for each Ministry, Department or Agency.

3. After adoption by the House, the Bill goes through Third Reading and is
passed as the Appropriation Bill.

4. It is then sent to the other House or Chamber for concurrence.

Bills Harmonization and Assent

1. Remember that this process occurs separately in each chamber; meaning
that both chambers will probably end up with different outcomes. Where this
happens, the two

2. Chambers will constitute a Joint Finance Committee of equal numbers to

consider only the areas of difference and submit their recommendations to the
two Chambers.

3. Where there is no agreement by the two Houses on the recommendations of

the Joint Finance Committee, there will be a joint sitting of the two legislative
Houses to determine the area of differences alone. Each legislator has only
one vote at this joint sitting.

4. Where there is agreement, each House adopts the Committee’s

recommendations and passes the Appropriations Bill.

5. Finally, a clean copy of the bill accompanied by the approved estimates is

sent by the Clerk of the National Assembly to the President for Assent.

6. The President signs and the APPROPRIATION BILL IS PASSED INTO LAW!