Population: 3,595,789

Constitution: State

Date of Independence:

CPA Branch Formed: 01 Jan 2000

Voting Age: 18

Branch Profile:

The House of Assembly as an Arm of the State Government derives its existence and authority under section 47-129 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. Its main function is to make laws for good Governance of the State and the Nation in general. It operates under the political leadership of the Speaker and other House leaders namely: Deputy Speaker, Majority Leader, Minority Leader, Chief Whip. Others are Deputy Majority leader Deputy Chief Whip and Minority Whip. The Legislative/Administration is headed by the Clerk of the House, a professional and accounting officer, together with his team of seconded professional staff from the State Civil Service. They collectively provide Administrative, Legislative and Finance Services to the Honourable House. OBJECTIVES/ AIMS The Primary Aim 0f the House of Assembly is to make Laws for the Governance of the State and the Nation in general through the Legislative Process. Other Aims and Objectives are highlighted below: i) Approval of Executive Appointments: The constitution requires the State Governor to submit his executive nomination and other important office appointments to the House for screening and approval before they are confirmed/announced. The House has the power to adjust or reject such nomination for appointment into public office. ii) Investigation and Resolution of Conflicts: The House of Assembly is an important organ for the registration of public opinion and grievances. Most of the nagging private and public problems of the citizenry are ventilated through the Legislature. In this regard protests, demonstrations and petitions in private and public capacities are lodged in the Legislature. The complaints/petitions committee of the House investigates and strives to resolve conflicts arising therein. The Legislature through these objectives becomes the guardian and protector of the citizens right. iii) Financial Support: it approves and controls the spending of money and approves its proposed financial estimates by the executive. It passes the appropriation Law and performs oversight functions on the executive arm. iv) Control of Activities: The House of Assembly controls the activities of other branch of government through the Legislative committees. The various committees of the House perform oversight functions on the Government Ministries/Departments to ensure that they are performing their statutory functions vise-a-vis the financial allocation appropriated to them. v) Power of Impeachment: The House of Assembly is empowered to draw charges of impeachment against officials of the State Government. If the charges attracts 2/3 majority of the members then a vote is passed to refer to the matter to the judiciary for necessary action on charges brought against the accused official. ACHIEVEMENTS i) The relative peaceful co-existence between the Executive and Legislative Arms of the Government and the citizenry in general is due to the good laws emanating from the House of Assembly thereby promoting Governance of the present administration. ii) The Hon. House since 1999 has passed thirty-nine (39) numbers of Bills into Laws and three hundred and six (306) of motions raised towards promoting peace and development of the State. PROJECT EMBARKED UPON The following projects were embarked upon directly by the Hon. House and others on-going such as: i) Purchase of 18-seater staff bus. ii) Construction of Assembly Premises road network. iii) Land scarping of parts of the Assembly Complex. iv) Building of staff cafeteria and clinic (on-going) Kogi state came into being as a result of the state creation exercise on 27th of August, 1991 with the administrative headquarters in Lokoja. The creation of the state was indeed a significant development for its citizens. This is because it brought about the reunion of a people who had shared historical roots and co-existed peacefully with the former Kabba province in the defunct Northern Region for more than 80 years. The state which is structured into 21 LGA's comprises of three major ethnic groups i.e. Igala, Ebira and Okun (Yoruba) other minor groups include ? Bassa Komo, Bassa Nge, Kakanda, Kupa, Ogori-Magongo, Nupe, Oworo, Gwari etc. There are 8 languages spoken as first language in Kogi State. Ebira, Igala, Nupe and Yoruba are major languages. The other languages are minority languages.