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SO1 – Democracy and Governance photo of participants at the Peace Network

USAID is directly contributing to Nigeria's democratic transition by supporting partners to:

  • increase the transparency and responsiveness of Nigeria's national and selected state legislators as well the high courts in Lagos, Kaduna, and the Federal Capital Territory;
  • establish the foundation for a fair and competitive electoral system by strengthening national and state electoral commissions, training independent election observers and monitors, and building the capacity of political parties to participate in elections;
  • promote knowledgeable participation by civil society in public policy formulation and increase its role in the mitigation of conflict.

An important cross-cutting principle in all of these activities is the goal of empowering women, increasing their participation in political processes at all levels, and broadening dialogue on issues of key concern to women such as trafficking in persons, inheritance rights, and widowhood practices.
Key results: USAID’s democracy and governance program is designed to strengthen the most critical elements of democratic governance – legislatures, the judiciary, electoral processes, and civil society. USAID assistance to the National Assembly and selected State Assemblies helped them to establish themselves as active, independent partners in government that also better represent their constituents. These bodies have worked to draft and pass key legislation that addresses core development issues such as infrastructure, social services, conflict mitigation and security.

USAID technical support to improve Nigeria’s electoral process has focused on the professionalization of electoral commissions at national, state and local levels, contributed to the eventual passage of the Electoral Act 2002, and encouraged public debate on election law, including a series of 37 public fora in which 10,000 Nigerians nationwide discussed draft election laws. This resulted in the broadest public input into draft legislation ever sought by a government. Training in basic electoral administration, including planning, logistics, electoral law and ethics, conflict management and the media was provided to senior staff of the 36 State Independent Electoral Commissions, which are responsible for the conduct of local government elections.

USAID's program in the judicial sector has helped three high courts (in Lagos, Kaduna, and the Federal Capital Territory) to improve the management of cases through the court system and increase their budget allocations from Federal and State governments. USAID-supported women's groups in the Southeast and Niger Delta regions proposed and passed bills in their state legislatures outlawing various harmful practices against women, and USAID-sponsored NGO networks have successfully mitigated conflicts and reduced political tensions in a number of States