Power Dynamics , Politics , Legislative , And Executive Collaboration : Detonating Landmines

There is no time that collaboration amongst the various arms and agencies of government in Abia State becomes quite sacrosanct than now.

The 2023 general elections in Abia State attests to the definition of “power dynamics” given the pattern and processes through which mainly the state Assembly members or lawmakers emerged reflecting the influence, control, and authority distribution spheres and its exercise within relationships between individuals, groups, or institutions in a given political melliue.

These dynamics further exemplified the interplay of power, as the ability to influence others’ behaviour as well as the ability to access resources with regards to the emergence of the leadership of the 8th Assembly. Ever since, relationships between the legislative and executive arms have corroborated the concept of power dynamics as unfixed; flexible, fluid and dispersed in both proportional or disproportional equilibria tantamount to change based on context, resources, social standing, and the strategies deployed by those involved (Ibekwe 2000).

The foregoing aligned with Max Weber’s 1922 seminal work conceptualised power as “the probability that one actor carries out his or her will despite resistance,” authority as its legitimised form through traditional customs, charismatic leadership, or legal rational office, each securing voluntary public consent. In global theoretical discourse, these concepts underpin decision-making, as articulated in majoritarianism-majority rule (Ohakarasi), elitism (elite dominance)(nde nze naa ozo), and pluralism (group competition)(Ohanaeze), each manifesting variably across regimes from Hobbesian absolutism to Lockean consent-based systems.Within Nigeria’s presidential federalism and Abia State’s context, these axioms reveal tensions between constitutional mandates and patronage-driven realities.

Montesquieu’s separation of powers doctrine, articulated in The Spirit of the Laws (1748), mandates distinct legislative, executive, and judicial functions to avert tyranny: “When legislative and executive powers are united in the same person… there can be no liberty.”

Abia State, created 1991 from Imo amid Igbo federal aspirations post Nigeria-Biafra conflict, exemplifies this theory’s practical evolution: Governor Alex Otti’s 2023 administration transforms power asymmetries into collaborative praxis, thereby aligning with Hannah Arendt’s (1970) definition thus; *Power is the ability to act in concert with others to achieve common goals. Consequently, it elevates Worldwide Governance Indicators from sub-30 percentages to national leadership through well-defined, concisely calibrated executive legislative

Power Typologies Within Separation Framework

Since the inurguration of the 8th Assembly on June 16th, 2023, there has been sustained entrenchment of the principles of separation powers akin to French and Raven’s bases of power, coercive (force), reward (patronage), legitimate (office), referent (charisma), expert (competence), informational (persuasion), intersect Lukes’ three dimensions (overt decisions, hidden agenda, preference shaping), operationalised within Montesquieu’s tripartite architecture. Pre-2023 Abia exemplified a converse order.

However, Otti’s expert referent synthesis has reversed the orde and restored balance, leading to a surgi in IGR up to 525% with a (4 billion to 25 billion naira monthly), assembly vetted per OECD standards. Thereby boosting Umuahia North’s revenue up to 42%. A very clear example of executive initiative checked by legislative scrutiny.

Legitimacy and Separation’s Mutual Reinforcement

Weber’s authority trichotomy aligns with Montesquieu’s functional differentiation, refined by Etzioni’s compliance theory and Beetham’s legitimacy triad (legal basis, shared values, public belief), quantifiable via WGI Voice and Accountability. Otti’s 2023 Labour mandate fuses legal rational constitutional authority with charismatic reform appeal, enabling 26 bills including Electricity Law, legislative prerogative preserved.

Contrasting 7th Assembly executive overreach (Government Effectiveness ~25th percentile), the 8th Assembly achieves 92% passage rate per SDG 16 metrics, embodying Neustadt’s “power to persuade” through Madison’s Federalist 51 checks and balances, each branch potent yet independent epitomising collaboration.

Separation Through Collaborative Praxis

Montesquieu’s axiom, “constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it,” necessitates not rigid isolation but functional interdependence with mutual checks Abia’s collaboration markers actualise this: 95% swift budget passage, joint oversight, bill assents per ISO 37000. Otti’s 1.016 trillion naira 2026 budget (229 billion naira/22.5% for housing/vulnerable groups) requires assembly assent; the same for the 25 Years development Plan (2025 to 2050) which mandates legislative review per UN standards.

The 2024 Supreme Court LG autonomy further elevates regulatory quality from the 35th to 67th WGI percentile, invariably embodying Lijphart’s consensual model and Ostrom’s polycentric governance within separated power architecture. Hence, the executive visions, the legislative, validate, while the judicial arbitrates.

Abia’s Historical Validation of Separation Theory

Abia’s political evolution reveals a classic tension between entrenched patronage networks—as theorised in Joseph’s (1987) concept of primitive prebendalism, a situation where public office becomes a tool for personal clientelistic gain and Dahl’s vision of pluralism, where competing interests yield balanced outcomes.

A periscopic view from 1999 to 2023, reveals an erosion of Montesquieu’s separation of powers, with state joint accounts (per Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution) systematically undermining local government autonomy, concentrating fiscal control into the executive hands compared with recent governance shifts, this validates theoretical expectations in practice: with Aba electrification capacity surging by 62%, while rural road networks have expanded by 78%, and with 45,000 youth ICT initiatives achieved with 87% success rates, alongside transparency rankings reaching 96/100 (Nigeria’s highest).

Conclusion: Toward Collaborative Ascendancy

Abia’s journey from foundational strides in Aba’s industrial hubs under early administrations to the synergistic advancements under Governor Otti’s Labour Party-Assembly partnership since 2023 exemplifies power’s constructive deployment through Montesquieu’s balanced separation and Habermas’ deliberative consensus . With 28 progressive laws enacted, including Enyimba economic zones and streamlined veto processes amid federalism reforms like the 2025 Supreme Court LGA autonomy ruling, executive-legislative fusion has revitalised not only the capital city Umuahia, hut the entire state geometrics, with emerging ring roads, and increase in agricultural value chains across 17 Local Government Areas .

With scholarly lenses, there is a validation of Weber’s probabilistic will, Dahl’s behavioural causation, Lukes’ multidimensionality, and Foucault’s relational capillaries. Evidently converged on this optimism are principal-agent alignments yielding to Pareto’s-superior equilibria (that is mutually beneficial outcomes) empowering pluralism over elitism and reciprocity over rivalry.

As Abia’s synergies signal, judicious power politics heralds enduring progress, inviting all stewards to harness collaboration for the people’s prosperity.

Now is the time for all to collaborate more not only to overcome, defeat, or unfaze the gathering storms of the opposition parties but also to consolidate and take Abia State to the zenith.

Hon. Nnamdi Ibekwe is the member representing Bende North State Constituency.