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ABSTRACTThe present research which is a survey, explores legislative responsibilities and party politics in Nigeria using the state House of Assembly, and party executives in Edo State of Nigeria as a case. Relevant literature is reviewed to enable the researcher have a thorough knowledge of the subject matter, find out new areas to explore and proffer solutions to the problem. The research approach is descriptive and exploratory in nature and it is conducted within quantitative framework. Questionnaire is used as the data collection measure as part of a larger study. The sample comprises of members of the Edo State House of Assembly, local government party executives, party ward executives and Edo Senatorial Districts. For descriptive purposes, frequency counts are computed for the coded personal data of the respondents. This study discovered that the members of party that loses an election always decamp to the ruling party or decamp to another party where they have an opportunity of being elected or appointed for desired position, thereby weakening opposition and by influence promoting legislative irresponsibility. The research reveals that public officers have political mindset of obnoxious political culture of absolutism in the struggles for the acquisition and retention power. The party system tends to shape the degree of independence and assertiveness a given legislature exhibits. When a single party controls both the executive and legislature, then the chances for independent legislative decision-making diminish. However, from the individual legislator’s point of view, the costs for challenging one’s party are likely to be very high, especially in party list systems where members depend on the good graces of their party for good position on the list in the next election. When the legislative career of a legislator depends on his/her placement on the party list, the last thing he/she may want to do is engage in activities that challenge the policies and actions of his/her own party’s government. It is therefore imperative for legislators and party executives to adhere to the practice of the rule of law as a guiding principle in the art of governance.
