THE DOCTRINE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS AS ITS APPLIES IN THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA 1999

THE DOCTRINE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS AS ITS APPLIES IN THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA 1999

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

The concentration of powers in one arm of government may lead to dictatorship and arbitrary rule, therefore there is need to avoid the concentration of power in one arm, of government and each arm of government should be independent of another so that the act of one arm of government should not be control by another. It means a government that make laws enforce such laws and adjudicate over breaches of such laws to suit its own purpose either politically, economically or socially to the detriment of others. The concept of separation of powers therefore arose from the need to ensure and restrain power of government without carrying the divisions to an extreme incompatible to effective government, the three (3) arms of government viz, legislature, executive and the judiciary must have distinct function and must be independent of one another.

In this regards while the legislature make the laws, the executive is charges with the implementation of law, while the judiciary is for the interpretation of the laws and its adjudication. The main notion of this is to avoid tyranny, anarchy, dictatorship and so on, this result from one person or group of persons handling powers.1

Notwithstanding, in the majority of the modern systems of government, the powers of the government can be divided into three different arms, usually referred to as organs of government. However, the doctrine of separation of powers applies in the presidential system of government.

1Johnson Ugoji Anyacle, Comprehensive Government for Senior Secondary School (Lagos: Johnson Publishers Ltd, 1991) page 69..

A presidential system of government is a government where all executive powers are vested in a president who is the head of state and of government. The president may exercise the executive powers of government either directly by himself or through the vice-president, ministers or other offices in the public services of the country. the powers of the president is to maintain the constitution and to apply all the laws made by parliament for the time being in force and to implement party programmes and generally uphold the interest of the nation and the welfare of the people at all time