Long Military Rule in Nigeria, has made the Legislature, an infant arm of government compared to the executive and the judiciary which were
functional even under the Military regimes for about three decades since independence in 1960. The Legislature therefore, is a symbol of
democracy, serves as the most salient dimension of democracy, and will be the litmus test for strength, sustainability and vitality of democratic
governance in Nigeria. The main aim of the study was to find out the level of involvement of the Legislature in policy making process. In particular, it intended to find out the level of the involvement of the Legislature in budget making process, a case study of Kaduna State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2003, considering the infancy nature of the Legislature in Nigeria and its constitutional responsibility of controlling public funds and expenditures for the general development and wellbeing of the country and citizenry. The result of the study was expected to reveal the level of involvement of the Legislature in budgetary process and recommendations to be proffered on how to improve the level of involvement of the Legislature in budgetary process in the Nigerian democratic environment. In undertaking this study, and based on stated objectives, two
hypotheses were formulated, questionnaire constructed, and data collected through administration of questionnaires to 34 Legislators and 20 relevant supportive Staff from the Departments of Legislative Matters and Budget and Planning, respectively of the House.
Results of the two hypotheses tested, proved that the level of involvement of the Legislature in budget making process in Kaduna State is
generally low as discussed in chapter four of this study, due to the infancy nature of the Legislature, inexperience, inadequate facilities, knowledge
and training on the part of both Legislators and relevant supportive Staff on budgetary process, during the period of study.
It was therefore, concluded that the low level of involvement of the Kaduna State House of Assembly in budgetary process within the period of
study, could be a general picture of what was and is still obtainable in other Legislative Houses in Nigeria, considering the Federal status of the
Nigerian State, the general infancy nature of the Legislature in Nigeria, and the fact that the country and the component states are governed by the
same constitution. Arising from the results, it was suggested that continuity of democracy in Nigeria in spite of the crises being experienced in trying to plant it, capacity building for both the Legislators and relevant supportive Staff on budgetary process, equipping of the legislative Library with
relevant books, journals and internet facilities, would go a long way in improving the level of the Legislature in budgetary process in Nigeria.
