ISSN (Online): 3108-1584
Volume 2, Issue 2 - September 2026
Representative democracy assumes that elected legislators should remain responsive to citizens while exercising judgment on complex policy questions. This article examines the relationship between public opinion and legislative decision-making in Nigeria’s National Assembly between 2015 and 2023. Drawing on the mixed-methods evidence and case-oriented analysis contained in the source study, the article focuses on public hearings, electoral reforms, the Not-Too-Young-to-Run reform, debates surrounding electronic transmission of election results, and broader episodes of civic mobilisation. The evidence indicates that public opinion influences legislative behaviour, but not in a uniform or automatic manner. Public hearings, constituency consultations, media engagement and civic mobilisation create channels through which citizen preferences reach legislators. However, party loyalty, electoral incentives, executive and party interference, corruption, information asymmetry, weak transparency and elite interest-group influence can weaken the translation of public preferences into legislative outcomes. The article argues that legislative responsiveness in Nigeria is therefore conditional: public pressure is most consequential when it is sustained, visible, organised and connected to institutional mechanisms capable of transmitting citizen preferences into legislative deliberation. The study concludes that strengthening public hearings, constituency feedback, transparency and civic education is essential for improving democratic accountability.
Public opinion, legislative responsiveness, National Assembly, Nigeria, public hearings, representation, principal-agent theory, civic engagement
Uche Jane Anene, Ph.D, "Public opinion and legislative responsiveness in Nigeria’s national assembly, 2015–2023", Cosmo Research & Science International Journal, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 142-147, Sep. 2026.
Uche Jane Anene, Ph.D (2026). Public opinion and legislative responsiveness in Nigeria’s national assembly, 2015–2023. Cosmo Research & Science International Journal, 2(2), 142-147.
Uche Jane Anene, Ph.D. "Public opinion and legislative responsiveness in Nigeria’s national assembly, 2015–2023." Cosmo Research & Science International Journal, vol. 2, no. 2, September 2026, pp. 142-147.
@article{CRSIJ26000345,
author = {Uche Jane Anene, Ph.D},
title = {Public opinion and legislative responsiveness in Nigeria’s national assembly, 2015–2023},
journal = {Cosmo Research and Science International Journal},
year = {2026},
volume = {2},
number = {2},
pages = {142-147},
issn = {3108-1584},
url = {https://cosmorsij.com/published/CRSIJ26000345.pdf},
abstract = {Representative democracy assumes that elected legislators should remain responsive to citizens while exercising judgment on complex policy questions. This article examines the relationship between public opinion and legislative decision-making in Nigeria’s National Assembly between 2015 and 2023. Drawing on the mixed-methods evidence and case-oriented analysis contained in the source study, the article focuses on public hearings, electoral reforms, the Not-Too-Young-to-Run reform, debates surrounding electronic transmission of election results, and broader episodes of civic mobilisation. The evidence indicates that public opinion influences legislative behaviour, but not in a uniform or automatic manner. Public hearings, constituency consultations, media engagement and civic mobilisation create channels through which citizen preferences reach legislators. However, party loyalty, electoral incentives, executive and party interference, corruption, information asymmetry, weak transparency and elite interest-group influence can weaken the translation of public preferences into legislative outcomes. The article argues that legislative responsiveness in Nigeria is therefore conditional: public pressure is most consequential when it is sustained, visible, organised and connected to institutional mechanisms capable of transmitting citizen preferences into legislative deliberation. The study concludes that strengthening public hearings, constituency feedback, transparency and civic education is essential for improving democratic accountability.},
keywords = {Public opinion, legislative responsiveness, National Assembly, Nigeria, public hearings, representation, principal-agent theory, civic engagement},
month = {September}
}