ABSTRACT
Democracy as a system of government is constantly evolving for about 2,520 years. The system of government has taken roots in many Countries as the acceptable mode of government, while it is still described as nascent or fledging in other Countries such as Nigeria. In Nigeria, democracy had operated as a system of government for 23 unbroken years, witnessing transfer of power from One Political Party to the other with minimal challenges. The Legislative Arm of Government is central to any democracy in the world, and can be described as the symbol or the main essence of democratic governance. All other forms of government by whatever name called operate through the Executive and the Judicial arms only. It is the government of the people by the people and for the people, called democracy, that creates room for the Legislature and placed it ahead of the other two Arms of Government3 to facilitate checks and balances, propose laws, scrutinize bills, approve important actions of the Executive and conduct oversight functions amongst other roles to ensure that the Head of Government does not operate as a Dictator. This Paper reviewed the operations of the Legislative Arms of government and the legislative ethics in the Nigeria, observed that the Legislature is yet to properly find its foot and developed a set of suggested legislative reforms capable of strengthening the practice and operation of parliamentary democracy in Nigeria.
Keywords: Democracy, Parliament, Executive, Judiciary, Checks and balances 1