SAU Journal of Management and Social Sciences sau.edu.ng/sjmss/index.php (ISSN: 2550-7302), Vol. 5, Number 2 December, 2020. 109 Coverage of the National Assembly Crises in the Nigeria’s Fourth Republic by Select Mainstream Newspapers Ifedayo Akinwalere, PhD Department of General Studies Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria newsnowmagazines@gmail.com; +2348033936940 Abstract The study was conducted to determine the coverage given to various crises that occurred in the National Assembly of Nigeria from 1999 to 2016 by The Guardian, The Punch and Vanguard newspapers. Content analysis was adopted while coding sheet was used as the instrument of data collection. Results showed that the select newspapers published 1,740 news articles on National Assembly crises from 1999 to 2016. Findings indicated that most of the news stories on the National Assembly crises were written in double columns (62.1%), multiple columns accounted for 32.4%, while single column was employed in disseminating 5.5 % of the crises stories. The main crises that rocked the National Assembly were financial corruption (40.3%), leadership tussle (12.3%), bribery (10.5%), forgery accounted for 9.6%, budget padding (8.5%) and impeachment of National Assembly leaders (8.7%). Results of the Chi Square tests on the null hypotheses showed that there is statistically a significant difference between the newspapers and the types of crisis reported as p < 0.05. This means that the P value for types of crisis is significant to prediction on press reportage of the various National Assembly various. Therefore, it was concluded that as a result of the importance or danger which the crises rocking the National Assembly posed to the continued survival of democracy in Nigeria, the select newspapers gave the various crises attention with reasonable coverage. Keywords: Crisis, Democracy, Fourth Republic, Reportage, National Assembly Introduction The press does not only serve as a watchdog, but guides the government towards change. Information is the basis for effecting change as well as tackling the consequences of change. The information needed to run an open and successful government is to a large extent, provided by the press. The information-dissemination role of the press is a veritable tool for change. Human history is replete with evidences that the press has always been spearheading socio-political, spiritual and economic changes (Olaiya, Apeloko & Ayeni, 2013). From the foregoing, it is not an overstatement to stress that the press has an enormous role to play in the activities of every nation. The civilian regime of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo during the Fourth Republic spanned from 1999 to 2007. It was a mixed period of peace and crises imbued with political and religious intrigues. The zoning policy of his party, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), was adhered to by the leadership of the party. During the stated period, the top four positions in the country- the President, the Vice President, Senate President and Speaker of the House were zoned to the South-West, North-East, South-East and North-West, respectively. At the end of