With a vibrant civil society and maturing legislature and judiciary, Nigeria has the essential ingredients for democracy to take root. Its democratic institutions have evolved following the 1998-99 transition to democracy, which ended a series of military coups and failed attempts to establish civilian rule. Positive trends in the democratization process during the past year give rise to hope that nascent democratic institutions are being consolidated, including an independent judiciary that responded in a timely manner to electoral complaints, acting as an important check on executive power and a guarantor of the rule of law in the country; a legislature that exercised its oversight and representative functions more effectively, particularly in defeating attempts to amend the constitution to allow the president and many governors to compete for a third-term; a civil society that mobilized in large numbers to monitor the electoral process and to educate voters; and a vibrant media that created channels for the expression of diverse views and the dissemination of information. Moreover, Nigeria’s 2007 elections marked the first time that an elected government has successfully completed its full two-term constitutional mandate and handed over power to another.
Nonetheless, with reports of widespread electoral fraud and irregularities throughout the country, the conduct of the 2007 elections continued a negative trend of poor election administration witnessed during the 1999 and 2003 polls, representing a step backward in Nigeria’s democratic development. Increased violence in the oil-rich Niger Delta region and the continuing nexus of violence, corruption and politics further threaten successful democratic development in the country. Crucially, with more than half of all Nigerians still subsisting on less than a dollar a day, the country's recent transition to democratic governance has yet to produce lasting reforms and improved well-being for its citizens.
NDI Programs
In this context, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) has worked closely with Nigerian democrats to support the development of nascent democratic institutions since Nigeria’s 1998-99 transition from military to civilian rule.
Legislative Strengthening
Members and staff of the National Assembly attend the e-governance workshop in Abuja.
NDI's legislative strengthening program focuses on enhancing the capacity of the National Assembly (NA) to legislate effectively and conduct oversight of the executive branch, and assisting civil society organizations to effectively advocate for issues and demand accountability from the legislative and executive branches. Activities under this program have included assisting the NA with the production and passage of a code of conduct for members of the House of Representatives, providing technical assistance to committees on oversight and reform, organizing strategic thinking retreats for House and Senate leadership, and co-sponsoring an internship program.
Recently, NDI co-sponsored a research study examining experiences of women political aspirants and candidates in Nigeria during the 2007 electoral period and developed recommendations to be shared with members of the National Assembly, representatives from civil society and other key stakeholders on how to ensure greater women’s political participation in Nigerian politics. NDI also co-hosted several recent trainings for staff and members of the National Assembly Service Commission and staff from several NA committees on strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation and e-governance.
NDI's assistance to the legislature has also enhanced the skills of members to exercise oversight and transparency through the budget process. The Institute is working with key legislators and staff to establish and support the operations of the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO), which would professionalize the NA's consideration of Nigeria's federal budget and strengthen the capacity of the legislative branch in its engagement with the executive branch on budget-related and public expenditure management issues.
NDI has enhanced its core legislative strengthening work with an issue-based program to develop legislative capacity and civil society engagement to promote poverty alleviation and pro-poor reforms. The pro-poor reform component is designed to help develop sustainable capacity in the NA and enable the legislature to better play a constructive role in addressing poverty and inequality. Recently, NDI brought together representatives of key legislative committees to discuss reforms needed to meet the Millennium Development Goals and Nigeria's National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). Additionally, representatives from civil society, the executive branch, and the NA participated in a workshop sponsored by NDI to analyze the recently signed Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative Bill. NDI has also worked with the National Assembly to help establish the National Assembly Civil Society Organization (CSO) Liaison Office, which is expected to facilitate better contact between members of civil society and legislators. The CSO liaison office is staffed by National Assembly staff members and began operations in October 2007.
NDI is also conducting a number of activities to promote legislative capacity and strengthen national-state linkages in developing policy with a focus on the issue of HIV/AIDS. NDI is conducting regional forums to facilitate more open and inclusive process of policy development and to promote greater interaction between civil society representatives, state officials and national actors on the issue of HIV/AIDS.
Strengthening Electoral Processes
Members of the NDI delegation observe the vote count at a polling station near Abuja.
NDI conducted domestic monitoring and international observation programs for the 1999, 2003 and 2007 elections. In 2007, NDI assisted a coalition of prominent Nigerian civil society organizations to develop a common election observation checklist and reporting strategy to facilitate election observation by more than 50,000 Nigerian volunteers. NDI provided technical assistance and financial support for the production of training materials and polling site checklists, trained master trainers on election monitoring, and established a nationwide system to facilitate the collection and analysis of monitors' forms. NDI also provided technical assistance to the organizers of presidential debates and worked with civic groups to conduct issue-based voter education programs throughout Nigeria.
In May 2006, NDI conducted a pre-election assessment mission to examine the level of preparations for the April 2007 elections at the height of the “third-term” debate in the National Assembly. The Institute also deployed two groups of long term observers (LTOs) to monitor and report on the progress of the voter registration and election preparation efforts. For the April elections, NDI organized and deployed an international observer mission, which included political and civic leaders, election experts and regional specialists from 16 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. The 60-member delegation observed the conduct of presidential and National Assembly polls on election day and issued a preliminary statement condemning the conduct of the elections based on the delegation’s observations. This delegation was the tenth NDI election observation mission to Nigeria since 1998 and was led by Madeleine Albright, chairman of the NDI Board of Directors and former US secretary of state; Mahamane Ousmane, speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) parliament and former president of Niger; Amos Sawyer, former president of Liberia; Joe Clark, former prime minister of Canada; Jeanne Shaheen, director of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University and former governor of New Hampshire; Yvonne Mokgoro, justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa; and Kenneth Wollack, president of NDI.
Members of NDI’s international observer delegation to the 2007 elections discuss the delegation’s findings during an April 23 press conference.
In the post-election period, NDI is providing support to civil society actors to review the 2007 elections, monitor the adjudication of electoral complaints, and develop recommendations for electoral reforms. For example, the Institute co-sponsored an All Nigeria Civil Society Post-Election conference with the Nigerian Bar Association and the Nigeria Labour Congress. Participants discussed some of the lessons learned from the April 2007 elections and came out with recommendations for improving the electoral process in the run-up to the expected 2011 polls. Following the conference, NDI convened three regional meetings on post-election reform efforts. In addition, NDI is monitoring the ongoing deliberations of the election tribunals across Nigeria and preparing to work with the recently inaugurated Electoral Reform Panel and relevant civil society and National Assembly stakeholders. NDI is providing technical assistance to promote the speedy development, consideration, approval and implementation of the electoral reforms demanded by millions of disenfranchised Nigerians.
NDI’s programs in Nigeria are funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ford Foundation.
Contact Information
For further information on NDI’s programs in Nigeria, please contact:
Julie Page Denham, Senior Program Manager (Washington, DC) Send Email
Robert Nakamura, Resident Senior Country Director (Abuja) Send Email
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