SS1 Civic Education Lesson Note on the Arms of Government

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TOPIC: PILLARS OF DEMOCRACY

CONTENT:   1 Strong institution e.g. the arms of government, armed forces, civil societies, etc

SUB-TOPIC 1: THE ARMS OF GOVERNMENT

In any political system, there exist three main arms of government that discharge specific duties for the administration of a political entity. The three arms of government are the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.

The Executive

The executive arm of the government consists of all the agencies and officers that are concerned with the execution of government policies. This arm of government is associated with the role of acting as the country’s head of state at all ceremonial occasions and as the leaders of government business.

Functions of the executive arm of government

1. Issuance of rules and statutory orders in accordance with the constitutional provisions or the power granted by the legislature as the case may be.
2. Execution and implementation of policies, laws, rules and regulations.
3. Initiating and defending bills in the parliament.
4. Allocation of resources after the parliament’s approval.
5. Preparation of the budget for every financial year.
6. Supervising government projects.
7. Negotiating with other nations on treaties.

The Legislature

This is the arm of government that is responsible for making of laws for the administration of the country. It is usually referred to as the parliament. The members of parliaments are either nominated or elected from different parts of the nation. There are two types of legislature: bicameral and unicameral legislature.

A bicameral legislature exists in a society where there are two chambers or houses, that is, the upper and the lower chamber. In Nigeria, the lower chamber is called the House of Representative while the upper chamber is known as the Senate. The two houses are collectively referred to as the National Assembly. Unicameral legislature exists in countries where there is only one chamber. This is practiced in countries like Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Turkey.

Functions of the legislative arm of government

1. Enactment of laws for the smooth running of government;
2. Approval of budget that is presented by the executive arm of the government;
3. Screening and approval of ministerial nominees, ambassadors and other key government officials;
4. Approval of treaties made with other nations by the executive arm of the government;
5. Amendment of the constitution;
6. Setting up of probe panels to investigate the activities of governmental institutions such as parastatals and corporations.
7. The removal of erring members of the executive through the process of impeachment by passing a vote of no confidence.

The judiciary

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