Enhancing Representative Democracy in Nigeria

IMO STATE
CONSTITUENCY OFFICES
1
Enhancing Representative Democracy in Nigeria

Imo State
Constituency Offices

Conducted by the
CENTRE FOR CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE

With the support of the

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY

2
 Enhancing Representative Democracy in Nigeria

the

Developed and Published by

Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG)

Project Team:
Dr. Adewale P. BALOGUN, Executive Director
Juliana IREGBU, Senior Expert

Secretariat:
CCG
10, Afolabi Lesi Street, llupeju
P.O. Box 7247, Lagos, Nigeria
Tel: 08034040009, 08034342516
e-mail: [email protected]

3
 First Published
August, 2015

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without a prior permission of the publisher.

4
Acknowledgement

Our profound gratitude goes to the National Endowment

for Democracy for providing the support without which the
project may have remained a pipe dream.

Also, to all those who contributed their efforts at various

stages in the conduction of this survey, we say thank you.

5
 Contents

Acknowledgement ………………………………………………
1. Background …................................…………………………….
2. Introduction to Constituency Office..........................................
3. Criteria used to conduct Survey...............................................
4. Imo State Constituency Offices Survey.................................
5. The Report of the Analyses of the Questionnaires..................
1. Detail of Enumerators ………………………………….
2. Details of Respondents ………………………………..
3. Detail of Constituency…………………………………..
4. Details of Representatives …………………………….
5. Details of Constituency Offices………………………..
6. Accessibility of Constituency Offices………………….
7. Functions of Constituency Offices…………………….
8. Title of Projects………………………………………….
9. Method of Dissemination of Information………………
10. Further views on Constituency Offices ………………
6. Conclusion and Recommendations……………………………

ABOUT CCG…………………………………………………….
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7
1. Background
This publication is the report of a survey which provided the opportunity to assess
the constituency offices of the elected representative in the House of Assembly
(HoA). The data collected from the survey assisted in understanding better the
constituency issues facing the management of the constituency offices or whether
such offices even exist at all.

The publication is presented in four parts. First, an introduction to Constituency

Office; what it means to be a constituency office, the features of a constituency office
in terms of size and staff, what goes on in a constituency office. Secondly, what
informed the survey and the criteria used to conduct the survey. Thirdly, the
analyses of what was gathered by the field researchers. Lastly, the conclusions and
recommendations that can further improve the situation of the constituency offices.

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2. Introduction to Constituency Office
Constituency offices have become a feature of our political system but whether a
well established feature or not is open to conjecture. A Constituency Office is usually
located in a low rent building nestled in a busy area in town to make it accessible. It
should comprise at least three rooms; one small room for the outer office or the
reception area, another more moderate room for the lawmaker where he can see his
visitors and a large room or if you like a hall that can sit up to 40 constituents.

The office is heralded with a bright signage outside along the road where it is
situated bearing the name of the representative and an indication that a constituency
office is located within. The walls inside are adorned with the pictures of the
President, the state governor, posters from various government departments,
certificates and photographs belonging to the representative and an assortment of
furniture inside to convey the seriousness and dignity of the office as well as a
friendly environment. These offices may only open for a few days in a week
especially from Monday to Saturday and should be there for everybody, whether a
member of the representative’s party or not.

In terms of staff – skilled staff that can help the public to learn more about how
government works should usually be present. The staff should have an idea of good
governance and development. This is a snapshot of a constituency office. Basically,
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the space is intended to appear accessible and friendly and creatively used to make
it the focal point of the constituency for deepening and enriching the state’s political
conversation. Such an office allows the lawmaker to assert his presence in the
community and demonstrate commitment to local issues. The office should serve as
a private and local workspace for the representative, a service point for enquiries, a
meeting place, a protest site, an incubator for new projects and initiative.

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Hon. Chima Munonye’s office – note the simple sign with no frills
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3. Criteria used to conduct survey
One of the most significant objectives of this survey is to determine the physical
location of the Constituency Offices, to assess the office setup, the functions in the
office, method of dissemination of information and accommodating inputs from the
constituents.

Information gathered during the survey will help to identify existing gaps in our
representative democracy with a view to exploring available options for promoting
good governance through increased citizens’ participation in the management of
their affairs.

The survey was conducted in Imo State by 13 selected and trained enumerators
from non-governmental organisations in the State who covered all the constituencies
of the House of Assembly Legislators in the State. All of the twenty seven
lawmakers.

The study was carried out via questionnaire administration to respondents who are
members of the constituency office under consideration. We also applied
questionnaires to members of the public around the constituency office to see if they
can corroborate some of the information among others gathered from the
constituency location. As a starting point, we approached the House of Assembly for
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the addresses of the members and they claimed not to have this data. We wrote to
each member of the House and did not get any response but in our investigation we
were able to identify 21 lawmaker’s addresses from other sources. We, however,
could not ascertain the addresses of 5 of the lawmakers. 1 constituency did not have
a representative at the State House of Assembly.

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4. The Imo State Constituency Offices Survey
The Imo State Enumerators Training held successfully on Thursday, 14 August 2014
at the Links Hotel, Owerri. 13 outstanding participants out of the 20 participants that
benefitted from the training were subsequently mobilized for the field work which
took place between August 14 and 21, 2014. Questionnaires were applied in all the
constituencies in the State which presently have representatives in the State House
of Assembly. Oguta Constituency was without representation in the House, while the
Legislator representing Oru west was on suspension.

In constituencies where the constituency offices were identified, of the 27

constituencies, 26 of them had representatives in the House of Assembly while 1
was without any representation. Out of the 26 with representation, 25 were active
Legislators, while 1 Legislator was on suspension from the house. 21 of their offices
were identified, while 4 offices were not identified. The questionnaire was applied to
both the office staff as well as a specified number of residents in the constituency.
However, in cases of constituencies without an identifiable constituency office or
without a representative in the State House of Assembly, the questionnaires were
only applied to the constituents.

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13 enumerators were mobilized to apply the questionnaires in the 27 Constituencies
comprising the Imo State Houses of Assembly Constituencies. The Constituencies
are:

Ehime Mbano, Aboh-Mbaise, Orlu,

Isiala Mbano, Onuimo, Nwangele,
Owerri Municipal, Obowo, Okigwe,
Owerri North, Ahiazu Mbaise, Ohaji Egbema,
Owerri-West, Ngor-Okpala, Orsu,
Mbaitoli, Ikeduru, Isu,
Oru west, Ezinihitte Mbaise, Ideato South,
Oru east, Njaba, Ideato-North,
Nkwerre, Ihitte-Oboma, Oguta

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5. The report of the analyses of the questionnaires
5.1 Detail of Enumerators

The survey was conducted by 13 enumerators who were mostly senior level officers
in various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations
(CSOs) located in Imo State. Of the 13 Enumerators, 4 Enumerators representing
31% were Heads of organisation (Executive Directors), 5 enumerators representing
38% were Senior Programme Officers in their organisations, while the last 4
representing 31% worked in other departments in their various civil society
organizations. These show that the competence deployed in the field work was high.

Position of Enumerators

High level officials

31% 31%
Middle Level Officers

38% Other Officials

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5.2 Details on Respondents

Of the 130 questionnaires that were distributed, 10 questionnaires, representing 8%

were retuned invalid, while 120 questionnaires representing 92% certified valid were
eventually analysed.

i. Name of Respondents
Of the 120 questionnaires analyzed, 103 of the respondents representing 86%
provided their names and some bio data information, while the remaining 17
respondents representing 14% declined.

Names of Respondents

14%
Available
Not available
86%

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ii. Occupation of Respondents
Out of the 103 respondents, 92 representing 89% were from the private sector while
the remaining 11 representing 11% were from the Public Sector.

With most of the respondents from the private sector it is more likely that the
information or data they will provide on the constituency offices will be un-biased.

Occupation of Respondents

11%

Private sector 89%

Public Sector
89%

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iii. Age of Respondents
3 Respondents representing 3% were above 50 years of age, 30 respondents
representing 29% were between ages 40 to 50 years, 47 respondents representing
46% of the total number were between ages 30 to 39 years while the remaining 23
respondents representing 22% were between 18 and 29 years.

All the respondents are within the voting age range and are expected to be politically
aware and knowledgeable in the area of focus and have the capacity to answer the
questions in the constituency offices survey questionnaire.

Age of Respondents
3%

22% Over 50 years

29%
40-50 years
30-39 years

46% 18-29 years

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5.3 Detail of Constituency

S/N Constituency 14. Oru-East.

1. Aboh-Mbaise 15. Isu
2. Ikeduru 16. Ehime-Mbano
3. Okigwe 17. Njaba
4. Nkwerre 18. Owerri Municipal
5. Ngor-Okpala 19. Nwangele
6. Ezinihitte-Mbaise 20. Owerri-West
7. Ahiazu-Mbaise 21. Ihitte Oboma
8. Orsu 22. Mbaitoli
9. Onuimo 23. Owerri-North
10. Obowu 24. Oguta
11. Ideato-South 25. Ohaji-Egbema
12. Isiala-Mbano 26. Orlu
13. Oru-west 27. Ideato-North

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5.4 Details on Representatives

There are 27 House of Assembly Constituencies in Imo State out of which 26

currently have representatives in the State House of Assembly while one
constituency has been without a representative since the last general elections in
2011.

Oguta Constituency did not have a representative in the State House of Assembly
because elections in the LGA were cancelled due to widespread violence during the
2011 governorship and State House of Assembly Elections and there was no rerun.

S/ Consti- Name of Gender Present Number of Phone/Email

N tuency Representa- political tenures in
tive party Office
1. Aboh- Hon. Mrs. Female PDP 1 Not available
Mbaise Ngozi Olaedo
Patrick Ekeji
2. Ikeduru Hon. Samuel Male PDP 2 Not available
Anyanwu
3. Okigwe Hon. Ihim Male APC 3 08036174079
Iheanacho
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4. Nkwerre Hon. Obinna Male PDP 1 08025137492
Ofeara
5. Ngor- Hon. Emeka Male APC 1 08033104576
Okpala Nwofor
6. Ezinihitte- Hon. Dr. Male PDP 2 Not available
Mbaise Obinna
Ekennia
7. Ahiazu- Chief. Adaku Female APC 1 adakuihuoma
Mbaise Chinenye @yahoo.com
Ngozi Ihuoma
8. Orsu Hon. Stan Dara Male APC 2 Not available

9. Onuimo Hon. Male PDP 1 Not available

Robertson
Ekwebelem
10. Obowu Hon. Ngobiowu Male PDP 1 Not available
Celestine
11. Owerri Hon. Innocent Male APC 1 Not available
west Eke
12. Ideato Hon. Male APC 1 08063938868
south Ikechukwu
Amuka
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13. Isiala- Hon. Simeon Male PDP 2 Not available
Mbano Iwunze
14. Oru-west Rt. Hon. Male APC 1 Not available
Donatus
Ozoemena
15. Oru-east Hon. Greg Male PDP 1 08034053445
Okemili 08181344454
16. Isu Hon. Ikenna Male APC 2 08013606060
Emeh
17. Ehime- Hon. Dimaku Male PDP 3 Not available
Mbano Kingsley
18. Njaba Hon. Obioha Male 1 Not available
Kevin Chino
19. Owerri Hon. Victor Male APGA 1 Not available
Municipal Mere
20. Nwangele Hon. Ugonna Male APC 1 08032034819
Ozurugbo
21. Owerri Hon. Ikpeazu Male Not available.
North Daniel
22. Ihitte Hon. Ben Male APC 1 Not available.
Oboma Uwajimogu

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23. Mbaitolu Hon. Victor Male APC Not available
Ndunagu
24. Oguta No
representative
25. Ohaji Hon. Luke Male APC 1 Not available
Egbema Chukwu
26. Ideato- Hon. Eudora Female APGA 1
North Igwe
27. Orlu Hon. Mike Male APC 1 Not available
Ndubuaku

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i. Gender of Representatives
23 Legislators out of 26, representing 88% were males, while the remaining 3
Legislators representing 12% were females.

Very clearly, the gender distribution of legislators of the Imo State House of
Assembly is lopsided with the male gender dominating. There is need to enhance
women’s participation in politics and in running for elective positions to reach at least
the recommended 35% for affirmative action.

Gender of Legislators

12%
Males
Females
88%

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ii. Political Party of Representatives
Out of the 26 representatives that were available, 9 representatives, representing
34% were members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), another 13 Legislators,
representing 50% are members of the All Progressive Congress (APC), 2
Honourables with 8% were members of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA),
while another 2 representatives with 8% were not identified with any political party.

Political Party of Legislators

60%
50%
40%
30%
Political Party of Legislators
20%
10%
0%
PDP APC APGA Not identified

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iii. Tenures Spent in Office
17 Legislators representing 65% were just in their first tenure, 5 reps. Representing
19% were in their 2nd tenure, 2 representing 8% were already in their 3 rd tenure,
while 2 Legislator with 8% did not have information available on how many tenures
he has spent in office. Generally, the rate of return is low considering that only 7
legislators were returned out of 27.

The high rate of turnover is a reflection of the inadequate usage of constituency

offices by the Legislators. The constituency office is an important tool for
Constituency Cultivation which when effectively utilised by a legislator will aid the
return of the legislator by the electorate.

Tenures in offfice
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
First tenure Second tenure Third tenure Not indicated

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iv. Contact details of representatives - 8 Legislators representing 31% provided
either a phone number or an email through which their constituents could reach
them. The remaining 18 representing 69% did not provide either a phone number or
an email.

This shows a communication gap in the representative’s-constituent relationship. A

phone number and/or an email address via which constituents can make
appointment to meet with the legislator is very vital in the development of
constituency relations.

Contact information of representative

31%
Available
Not available
69%

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5.5 Details on Constituency Offices

S/N Repre- Consti- Office Address Office hours

sentative tuency
1. Hon. Owerri- Awaka Hill, near His bill Office not identified
Ikpeazu C. North board, by the left going to
Daniel Mbaise
2. Hon. Ehime Local Govt. 3 to 4 hours daily
Dimaku Mbano headquarters, from Monday to
Kingsley Umuezeala, Aba branch Friday.
or call Chidi on
08033252901 for proper
direction.
3. Hon. Isiala Simeon Iwunze Political Office not identified.
Iwunze Mbano Organisation Building, Honourable’s house
Simeon Amaraku Roundabout. is close to address
location provided.
Residents claim
constituents are
attended to in his
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 house.
4. Hon. Ekeh Owerri- Irimaogu Ihiagwa along 8am to 6pm Monday
Innocent West Naze/Ihiagwa FUTO to Friday
Road, a storey building
before Ochie Micro
Finance Bank.
5. Hon. Mbaitoli Iwuji Block Industry, 8am to 4pm,
Adunagu Umuoha, Ubomiri, Monday to Friday.
Victor C. Nwaorieubi
6. Rt. Hon Oru-West 98B Onitsha/Owerri 10am to 4pm
Ozoemena Express way (former Monday to Friday
Donatus Mgbidi Micro finance
building) Mgbidi.
Office has been relocated
to Orlu junction at 9B
Owerri Onitsha Express
Road.
7. Rt. Hon. Nkwerre Hon. Obinna Okwara 8am – 4pm, Monday
Okwara Constituency Office, to Friday.
Obinna Nweke Nkwerre daily
market (One storey
building), Amaegbu
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 Umuololo, Nkwerre.
8. Rt. Hon. Aboh- Umuanuma Nguru, along Office identified.
Pat-Ekeji Mbaise Owerri/Umuahia Road, Not open regularly
Ngozi I. before Nguru Centre.
9. Rt. Hon. Onuimo Okigwe/Owerri Road, No office identified
Robertson behind First Bank,
Ekwebelem Okwelle, OnuimoLGA.
10. Hon. Obowo Achingali, opposite the Office identified. Not
Ngobiowu Customary court. functioning always
Celestine locked.
11. Rt. Hon. Ihitte- Ishinweke, opposite Ihitte 8am to 4pm
Benjamin Uboma Oboma Council Mondays to
Uwajimogu Headquarters. Saturdays.
12. Rt. Hon. Ahiazu- Affor Oru, NkwoAla, Aba 8am to 3pm Monday
Ihuoma Mbaise branch, opposite Ahiazu to Friday.
Adaku C. Mbaise Council
Headquarters Secretariat.
13. Rt. Hon. Ngor- Near Emmanuel Anglican 8am to 4pm,
Nwafor Okpala Church, Umuewere, Monday to Friday.
Emeka Nguru, Ngor-Okpala.
14. Hon. Ikeduru Umuori, Iho, Ikeduru 8 am to 4pm,
Anyanwu (Cousin LGA. Monday to Friday.
31
 Samuel declined)
15. Hon. Ekenia Ezininhitte- Aforekir i Okpofe, before Not functioning.
Obioma Mbaise Local Government Locked always.
Headquarters.
16. Rt. Hon. Njaba Nkume, before the bus- 8am to 6pm Monday
Obioha stop by the left. to Friday.
Kevin Verified as Km. 7, Orlu-
Chino. Owerri road, Nnenasa, But does not open
Njaba LGA, Imo State. regularly
17. Hon. Igwe Ideato No office. No office
Eudora North
(Barr.)
18. Rt. Hon. Ideato Ekwesirieze Foundation, Office not
Amuka South near Nkwo Akaokwa. functioning
Ikechukwu
19. Hon. Orlu No 4 Amigbo Road, Orlu 8am to 6pm, Five
Ndubuaku working days a
Mike week.
20. Hon. Mere Owerri No 44 Tetlow Road, Not regular
Victor Municipal Owerri, on top of Haire
Thermocool Showroom.
Now at No 50 Tetlow
32
 Road, Owerri.
21. Hon. Nwangele Umudurueze hall, Mbahu Office is not
Ozuruigbo Amaigbo, Umuozor functioning
Ugonna Nwangele.
22. Rt. Hon. Okigwe No 137 Owerri Road, 8.30 to 4.30
Ihim opposite Zenith Bank, Monday to Friday
Iheanacho Okigwe.
23. Hon. Ohaji- No office Office not found
Chukwu Egbema
Luke
24. Hon. Dara Orsu Inside Local Government Office not found
Stan Headquarters, Orsu.
Patience
25. Hon. Isu Orie Ulano Market Office not
EmehIkenn Square, Ulano functioning
a UduuagbaIsuIga, Imo
State.
26. Hon. Greg Oru-east 123 Owerri Onitsha 8am – 5pm
Okemili Road, Mondays to Fridays.
27. No Oguta No Representative No Representative
Representat
ive
33
i. Does the representative have a constituency office?
Of the 120 respondents whose questionnaires were assessed, 72 respondents
representing 62% stated that their representatives had constituency offices, another
28 respondents representing 24% said that there was no constituency office. The
last 16 respondents representing 14% stated that they did not have an idea. That
over one third of the respondents are not aware of a constituency office makes it
mandatory for the legislator to create an awareness of the presence of an office.

34
 Does Representative have an Office?

14%
Yes

24% No
62% No idea

ii. Availability of office addresses

26 constituencies of 27 had Representatives in the State House of Assembly while 1
had no elected representative. Of the 26 Constituencies that had representatives,
constituency office addresses were obtained for 24 representing 92% while 2
constituencies representing 8% did not identify any constituency office address.

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 Availability of Office Addresses

8%

Available
Not available

92%

iii. Availability of Office at provided address

Of the 24 addresses that were obtained, 20 of the offices representing 83% were
available at the addresses provided, while the remaining 4 addresses, representing
17% had no offices located there

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 Availability of Offices at Provided Addresses

23%
Available offices
Not available
77%

iv. Opening and closing hours of the office

12 offices representing 46% of the 26 constituencies were reported to function
regularly within working hours ranging from 8am to 6pm or 8am to 4pm, while the
remaining 14, representing 54% were either not functioning regularly or did not have

37
constituency offices. In situations where they didn’t function regularly, they were only
open for party meetings.

Opening and closing hours of the office

46% Regularly

54% Not functional

v. Days of the week office is open

12 offices representing 46% opened regularly from Mondays to Fridays, while 14
offices, representing 54% were not functioning regularly or did not have constituency

38
offices. The non-functional offices only opened for special political party meetings or
during campaign periods.

Days of the week office is open

46% Monday to Friday

54% Iregular/Seasonal or not available

`
5.6 Accessibility of Constituency Offices (120 questionnaires were analysed)

39
i. Is there a conspicuous signage outside the office?

Yes 59 (49%) No 36 (30%) Don’t know 25 (21%)

Of the 120 questionnaires analyzed, 59 respondents representing 49% stated yes,

another 36 respondents representing 30% said No, while 25 respondent
representing 21% said they had no idea. A conspicuous signage serves as a type of
silent advocate for the presence of a constituency office. Exterior signs draw
attention to the office and help to differentiate it from other offices on the street.

Is there a conspicous signage outside the office?

100%

50%

0%
Yes No Don't know

ii. Number of rooms in the office

40
 One room Two rooms Over two rooms Don’t know
9 (8%) 14 (12%) 36 (30%) 61 (50%)

9 respondents representing 8% specified one room, another 14 respondents

representing 12% said there were 2 rooms. 36 Respondents representing 30% said
there were over 2 rooms. 61 respondents representing 50% of the respondents
stated that they had no idea.

Number of rooms in the office

60%

40%

20%

0%
One room Two rooms Over two rooms Don't Know

iii. Availability of conference room in the office

41
 Yes 43 (36%) No 23 (19%) Don’t know 54 (45%)

43 respondents representing 36% of the total respondents said yes, that there is a
conference room in the constituency offices. 23 respondents representing 19% of the
total answers said No, that there is no conference room in the offices, the last 54
respondents representing 45% said that they did not have an idea whether there is a
conference room or not.

Availability of conference room in the office

50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Yes No Don't Know

iv. Number of staff and volunteers that work in the office

42
 One 17 (14%) More than one 38 None 13 (17%) Don’t know 52
(32%) (43%)

17 respondents, representing 14% of the total number said there was one staff,
another 38 respondents representing 32% said there were more than one staff. 13
respondents representing 11% indicated that there was no staff working in the
offices, while the final 52 respondents representing 43% indicated that they did not
have an idea of the number of staff or volunteer that work in the offices.

Number of Staff and Volunteers that work in the office

60%

40%

20%

0%
One Over one None Don't know

43
v. Capacity of the conference room

Less than 20 persons 20-40 persons Over 40 persons Don’t know

10 (8%) 18 (15%) 19 (16%) 73 (61%)

10 (8%) respondents stated that the available conference room has a capacity for
less than 20 people. 18 (15%) respondents stated that the available conference
room has a capacity for between 20 to 40 persons. 19 (16%) respondents said the
conference room could contain over 40 constituents, while 73 (61%) respondents
indicated they don’t know.

Capacity of the conference room

80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Less than 20 people 20-40 people Over 40 people Don't know

44
vi. Non-partisan outlook of the office

Yes 23 (19%) No 40 (33%) Don’t know 57 (48%)

23 respondents representing 19% of the total answer stated yes, that the offices had
a non-partisan outlook; another 40 respondents representing 33% said the offices
did not have a non-partisan appeal, while 57 respondents representing 48% said that
they did not know. Partisan political party emblems and insignias decorating the
outside and inside of a constituency office may deter constituents that are not
members of that party or that are even neutral from approaching the office believing
that they may not receive attention.

Outlook of offices
60%
40%
20%
0%
Non Partisan appeal Partisan appeal Don’t know

45
5.7 Functions of Constituency Office (120 questionnaires were analysed)

i. Are constituency meetings held in the office?

39 (33%) respondents said Yes, while 34 respondents representing 28% answered
No. 47 respondents representing 39% said that they don’t know. The legislators
need to create awareness around these constituency meetings as they are the
source of the materials for representing the constituency.

Are constituency meetings held in the office?

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Yes No Don’t know

46
ii. How often are meetings held in the office?
21 respondents representing 17% stated regularly, 38 respondents representing
32% said not regularly while 61 respondents representing 51% answered don’t
know.

Constituency offices should be a very important place in the community for regular
meetings. That about 80% of constituents cannot take advantage of this creates a
gap in the representation being provided.

How often are meeting held?

60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Regularly Not regularly Don’t know

47
iii. Does the Representative attend constituency meetings?
30 respondents representing 25% said Yes, another 40 respondents representing
33% said No while 50 respondents representing 42% stated that they did not know.

Does Representative attend constituency meeting?

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Yes No Don’t know

.
48
iv. Does the Representative visit his constituency?

59 respondents representing 49% said yes, 21 respondents representing 18% stated

no, while the remaining 40 respondents representing 33% said they did not know.

Representatives work fewer days in a week in the Assembly because it is assumed

that they also need time to visit and relate with their constituents. This will enable the
representative build a relationship with their community that make their return to the
Assembly easier. The representative should find time to visit their constituencies and
see things first hand.

49
 Does Representative visit his constituency?
60%

40%

20%

0%
Yes No Don’t know

v. Has Representative embarked on any constituency project?

44 respondents representing 37% said Yes, 29 respondents representing 24% said
No, while the last 47 respondents representing 39% said that they did not know.

The reason why many constituents are ignorant of constituency projects is because
such projects are often times directed at members of the representative’s party in
that community or implemented as if the money for the project came from the
representative’s pocket.

50
 Has Representative embarked on any constituency project?

37% Yes
39%
No
Don't Know
24%

vi. Was the choice of project made after consultations with constituents?

21 respondents representing 18% indicated yes, another 35 respondents

representing 29% indicated no while the last 64 respondents representing 53% said
they did not know.

51
 Was the choice of project made after consultation with
constituents?

18%
Yes
No
53%
29% Don't Know

5.8 Title of projects? 122 responses analysed

Title of projects Number of responses %

Agriculture 4 3%
Drainage 5 4%

52
 Education 10 8%
Electricity 10 8%
Employment 1 1%
Empowerment (Youth & Women) 22 18%
Roads 14 11%
Infrastructure 11 9%
Health 12 10%
Sports development 1 1%
Water 8 7%
No project 6 5%
Don’t know 18 15%

Of the project titles mentioned, empowerment projects seem to dominate. We have

seen situations where representatives share hair driers, motor bikes, tricycles, and
food items to their party members and cronies on in the guise of empowerment.
Legislators should allow the choice of the project to be the outcome of consultation
with the constituents. Development projects that are sustainable with longer lasting
impact will be more likely in these situations.

5.9 Method of dissemination of information and accommodating inputs from

constituents?

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i. Are constituents consulted on issues before policy formulation? 120
responses were analysed. 9 respondents representing 8% said that the constituents
were consulted always before policies were formulated, 20 respondents representing
17% said they were seldom consulted, 34 respondents representing 29% said are
never consulted while the remaining 57 respondents representing 46% said they did
not know about it.

Are Constituents consulted on issues?

60%
40%
20%
0%
Always Seldom Not at all Don’t know

ii. How is information disseminated in the community?

Information dissemination No. of responses %

Town Unions 5 5%
Ad-hoc constituency meetings 8 9%
Notice boards 6 6%
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Others 43 42%
None of the above 6 6%
Don’t know 34 33%

How information was disseminated

50% 42%
40% 33%
30%
20% 9%
5% 6% 6%
10%
0%
Town Unions Ad-hoc Notice boards Others None of the Don’t know
constituency above
meetings

iii. How would you rate information sharing between the representatives and
their constituents?
Of the 120 questionnaires that were analysed, 9 respondents representing 9% stated
that information sharing was very efficient, another 22 respondents representing
18% said it was efficient, 29 respondents representing 24% indicated fair. 31
respondents representing 26% said it was poor, while the remainingt 29 respondents
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representing 24% stated that information sharing was very poor. A high percentage,
74% rated the information dissemination poorly.

Rating of Information Sharing

30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Very efficient Efficient Fair Poor Very Poor

5.10 Further views on Constituency Office

i. Accessibility of the Constituency Office

Of the 20 offices that were located, 14 offices representing 70% which were
accessible were assessed and 6 offices representing 30% were under lock and key
and so were not accessible and could not be assessed by the enumerators. This

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shows that some Legislators establish offices which are not put to good use. A
constituency office should always be open to receive constituents whether or not the
Legislator is available. It is expected that the office should have competent staff that
will always be available to welcome constituents and to attend to their inquiries and
make appointments for the legislator.

Accessibility of Constituency Offices

100%
Accessible, 70%

50% Not Accessible, 30%

0%

ii. View of the size of the office

Of the 20 offices that were identified, 2 of them representing 11% were located in
semi-detached houses, 4 of them representing 20% were located in a one room
apartment or shop, and another 4 representing 20% were bungalows, while 10
offices representing 50% were located in flats.
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 Size of facilities
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Semi-detatched houses One room/shop Bungalows Flats

iii. View of the office set-up and facilities in office

This has to do with the assessment of desks, chairs, pictures on the wall, party
colours, computers, shelves, storage, etc in the office.

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Of the 14 offices that were accessible, the furnishing of 6 of them representing 43%
were rated as very good, another 3 of them, representing 21% were rated as good, 2
offices representing 14% were rated fair while the last 3 offices representing another
21% were rated as poor in terms of furnishing.

Office set-up
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
very good Good Fair Poor

iv. View of the staff

Whether the staff were educated, helpful, have problem solving skills, understand
how government works, understand constituents-representative relationship were
also assessed?
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65% of the office staffs encountered appeared to be averagely skilled while the
remaining 35% were rated below the average in terms of education and ability to
assist visitors to the office.

Quality of staffs in identified offices

35% Skilled
Not skilled
65%

v. General views

a. Most constituents are not aware of the existence of the constituency office
and even where they are aware, most of them do not know the use of the

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 facilities. There is need for massive sensitization of grassroots citizens on the
use of constituency offices.

b. Some legislators prefer to have their office located in the State capital rather
than in their constituency therefore there is need for the sensitization of the
representatives on how to run an effective constituency office and
constituency relationship building.

c. The State government should set up a monitoring mechanism to ensure the

effective utilization of constituency votes given to legislators for constituency
projects. Most times, the projects are not the outcome of consultation with the
constituents and as such not really what the people would need because the
choice is not theirs.

d. Community members should also be sensitized on how to hold their

representatives accountable by demanding a regular forum with them or
constituency meetings where they can discuss community challenges and
plan on how to overcome them.

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6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The situation regarding the constituency offices in Imo State can be better. Though 9
of the 13 offices accessed provided a befitting venue, this number only accounted for
30% of the constituencies. Significantly, only 8 out of the 26 constituencies had the
contact to the constituency office or legislator, a major short coming in the
management of a constituency office.

There is need to realise that at the heart of democracy is participation. For any
government to qualify as being democratic it must be all inclusive and participatory,
close and accessible to the people, it should also be able to satisfy their needs and
aspiration, promote equality and social justice, ensure the security of lives and
property. Therefore, it is always assumed that elected l eaders would always work in
the best interest of their electorate. Individual representatives are expected to
maintain close contact with their electoral areas, consult the people on their needs
and the issues they wish to be addressed, present them to House of Assembly for
consideration, report back to their electorate the decision taken by the House on
their views and proposals, and the actions that will be taken to develop their area as
a whole. These enable citizens to access better services and lead improved
livelihoods thus building confidence on representation and deepening democracy.

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Creating a more representative portrayal of political opinion in our legislative
assemblies is, therefore, a worthwhile and laudable goal, but so too is the
enrichment of whatever means we have to deepen and sustain an ongoing political
conversation between politicians and the citizens they represent. Notably,
constituency offices are one of the few pieces of physical and local infrastructure our
political system affords to maintain this connection. Inarguably, among our political
institutions, constituency offices serve as a rare space where citizens and their
representative can exchange views. They may not achieve agreement, but these
offices do support the possibility of greater understanding through exchange and a
reciprocal kind of political learning.

What constituency offices are uniquely poised to do is deepen and enrich the
political conversation in the state. The very notion of representative democracy
assumes that public participation in the decision-making process improves the
quality of decision-making. Legislators take in information which keeps them
informed about the constituency and can be taken back to the legislature to educate
other legislators about the area, resulting in more informed policy decision-making.
Legislators facilitate the flow of information and services back to the constituency,
making government more real and accessible thus improving delivery and
empowering constituents to participate in developing their communities.

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We, therefore, offer a few recommendations as principles rather than prescriptions,
based on experience and lessons drawn from within Nigeria and other democracies.

✓ A constituency office is preferably located in a busy area of town in that

constituency and not in the State capital. Its presence should be well denoted
by a signage along the road where it is situated. This signage must be neutral
with a non-partisan appeal so that it can attract everybody and not just party
members.

Internally, constituency offices should not be decorated to look like a political

party office. This will create a stigma that will discourage members of other
political parties from coming there because of the notion that their complaints
may not receive adequate attention.

✓ Up to date office equipments like computers, printers, photocopiers, scanners,

telephones are necessary for any functional constituency office.

✓ Staffs in constituency offices should be people that are knowledgeable on

issues relating to governance in the constituency. They should have the
requisite skill to handle constituents when they visit the constituency office.

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 The use of family members as staff in constituency office is not acceptable.
Staff and volunteers engaged in the running of a Legislators office should be
people who are both educated and knowledgeable about how government
works.

✓ A sizable conference room is mandatory for any constituency office. This

should also serve as venue for constituency meetings and town hall meetings.
It should be noted that the importance of the constituency office is organically
linked with the important role representation plays in democracy.
Representation is central to the functions of legislators; therefore constituency
offices should serve as a platform for organizing and convening community
meetings to access peoples’ views on issues of importance to the
constituency and to work out plans to resolve the issue. The office should also
be a medium through which the constituents can access their representative.

✓ It is not just enough to own a constituency office, the honourable should also
endeavour to make himself available to his constituents.

✓ Very importantly, the constituency office effectively used gives the

representative the opportunity to build a cordial relationship with the
constituents which makes it easy for the constituents to return the

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A three-dimensional representation of what a constituency office should
provide - note the reception area, small conference room, the legislator’s office
and a large space for meetings with constituents.

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 A high rate of return of lawmakers to the Assembly after every election-*+ will
improve the quality of the policies and allow for continuity and progress in
development in the community.

✓ Finally, I enjoin civil society and non-governmental organisations to support

the constituency office by playing their roles adequately in all ways particularly
by serving as the eyes and ears of the people and intervening on their behalf
when things appear unusual.

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About CCG
The Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG) was established in 1999
by the late Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti of blessed memory, with a vision to be
the best known and most effective non-governmental institution in Nigeria,
for the facilitation and protection of constitutional rights and democracy.

Our mission is to enthrone, expand and sustain constitutional governance,

pluralism, democracy and respect for human rights in Nigeria and facilitate
the capacity of communities to prevent any abrasion of democratic and
natural rights and responsibilities.

We sincerely believe that every community has abundant resources for the
fulfilment of its civic responsibilities and the protection of its members from
undemocratic inclination and that CCG, working with the community can
facilitate its optimal use by and for the community’s benefits.

In achieving our goals and missions we have committed ourselves to the

following objectives:

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• Working closely with community associations and representatives
to identify common resources.

• Working with community to build their own organizations through

which their voices can be heard and their constitutional aspirations
argued.

• To educate people and community associations about governance,

constitutional democracy and their social, economic and political
rights.

• To assist people and enhance the capacity of community

associations in the enforcement, protection of their human rights
and the promotion of civic administration at all levels of government.

• To strengthen public institutions and civil society organizations in

the promotion of the rule of Law, democracy and good governance.

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