By Citizenship Daily
It is no longer news that the 10th House of Representatives has surpassed the record of previous Assemblies, receiving a total of 1,188 bills, 679 motions, and approximately 300 petitions in one legislative session.
Nevertheless, the true measure of its success may be hindered by the constraints of its power and the subtle influences that shape the legislative process within the Green Chamber.
The present 10th House was constituted on June 13, 2023 with the election of Hon. Abbas Tajudeen and Benjamin Kalu as Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively.
Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, in his acceptance speech, had offered some insights into what the House would be doing under his leadership, by firstly, rolling out a legislative agenda.
He said “under my watch, the 10th House shall sustain and even surpass the gains of the 9th House. That is my prayer. We shall carry out the TASK before us JOINTLY. We shall introduce reforms and innovations for the benefit of Nigerians. In a few weeks, we shall be reeling out the legislative agenda that will shape the 10th House of Representatives.
“We shall work closely and inter-dependently with the Executive and Judiciary to give Nigerians the good governance they deserve. We stand at a crucial juncture in our nation’s history, where challenges abound, but so do opportunities. We will champion legislation that will uplift the lives of our fellow citizens, promote social justice, and drive sustainable development.
Agenda unveiled
The Speaker, following up on his commitments, set up the legislative agenda drafting committee under the Chairmanship of Majority Leader of the House, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, a document the House was to later adopt and unveil before the public.
In the words of the Speaker, the House identified eight key legislative priorities, namely: strengthening good governance, improving national security, law reform, economic growth and development, inclusion and open parliament, social sector reform and development, influencing foreign policy, and climate change and environmental sustainability in addition to “collaboration and multi-partisanship on common priorities” among others.
Achievement
Available record of the House performance in the year obtained by our reporter showed that out of a total of 1, 188 Bills, 243, representing 20.1 percent of the pieces of legislation have passed, 82 (7.0%) of them have passed third (final) reading.
Also, 238, representing 20.0 per cent of the Bills presented, have been referred to Standing Committees and Committees of the Whole for further legislative intervention in line with Order 12, Number 6 of the House Standing Order (as amended).
The record further showed that of the total number of 1, 188 Bills received, 12 (1.0 %) were executive bills, while 1, 176 (99.0%) were members’ Bills, out of which 9 (11.0%) and 72 (88.0%) have been passed (third reading), respectively.
Analysis of the Bills processed in the first session of the 10th House indicated a performance over previous House of Representatives since 1999.
For instance, the 2023–2024 recorded legislative year recorded 1,188 Bills compared to 14 in 1999–2000, 270 in 2011–2012, 685 in 2015–2016, and 853 in 2019–2020.
The Bills cut across the eight priority areas of the Abbas-led 10th House Legislative Agenda which broached on strengthening good governance, improving national security, law reform, economic growth and development, social sector reform and development, inclusion and open parliament, influencing, foreign policy, as well as climate change and environmental sustainability.
Some important Bills passed during the first session and assented to by President Bola Tinubu include: Electric Power Sector Reform Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023; Nigeria Hunters and Forest Security Service (Establishment) Bill, 2023; Federal Audit Service Bill, 2023; Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons Bill, 2023.
Others are Armed Forces Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023; National Assembly Library Trust Fund Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024; Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2024; Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc.) Bill, 2024 an Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Some others are Mandatory Inclusion of Teachings on Breast and Cervical Cancers into the Curriculum of All Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria Bill, 2023; Mandatory Inclusion of Preventive Measures and Teachings on Sexual Gender-Based Violence into the Curriculum of All Levels of Secondary Schools in Nigeria Bill, 2023; Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2023; National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) (Establishment) Bill, 2023; South-East Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2023 and National Anthem Bill, 2024.
Also, out of the 679 Motions, 7 were negatived, 22 referred for ad-hoc committees and 651 were referred to standing committees while over 500 motions were resolved to address pressing matters affecting the country.
Furthermore, the 10th House has introduced sectoral debates and briefings to engage with heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to enable lawmakers interact with MDAs and gain a deeper understanding of the specific challenges faced by each sector which so far featured service chiefs and heads of security agencies, Central Bank, Finance and National Planning, Agriculture and Food Security and Customs.
The 10th House also made it compulsory that oversight duties, including investigative hearings, to be concluded with reports and recommendations presented before the entire Chamber for appropriate legislative actions.
It equally established a Committee on Monitoring and Evaluation of House Committees as oversight mechanisms on itself as the panel is mandated to provide an additional layer of scrutiny by evaluating the performance of other committees in carrying out their oversight responsibilities.
This, according to the House, is to foster a culture of diligence and effectiveness in its oversight functions, ultimately contributing to a more efficient and responsive government.
In all, the 10th House constituted 120 Standing Committees, 20 Statutory Committees and 70 Parliamentary Friendship Groups in addition to 30 Ad-hoc Committees earlier established prior to the constitution of standing Committees.
The 10th House also boasts of fostering a harmonious and professional relationship with the Executive branch of the Nigerian government for the efficient functioning of governance, political stability, effective legislation, and the overall health of Nigeria’s democratic system – promoting transparency, accountability, and good governance practice
Challenges
While the House blew its own trumpet, the 10th Assembly has also faced with backlash, criticisms from followers of the parliament since inauguration a year ago. Prominent among such was from a chieftain, and former National Vice Chairman (North West) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, who took a swipe at the leadership of both chambers of the 10th National Assembly.
In a statement entitled, “Importance of Legislature to a Democracy,” the erstwhile chieftain of the APC lamented that the legislature has reduced itself to an appendage of the Executive arm of Federal Government, stressing that the members have a lot to learn from Senator Crystal Asige of Kenya, following the recent uprising in that country.
“A good example is the impulsive declaration of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to end petroleum subsidy without any clear plan. Followed by another impulsive decision to float the Naira exchange rate against other international currencies with hardly any plan.
“It is no secret that Nigerians are in shock and highly disappointed by the performances of the 10th National Assembly that so far hold the most expeditious record of passage of executive bills, including the scandalous reversal to an old National Anthem that hardly makes any sense without any public hearing.
“As it is now, thanks to the 10th National Assembly, President Asiwaju Tinubu’s government is operating three budgets concurrently – 2023, 2023 Supplementary and 2024 Budgets. There are speculations that a fourth – 2024 Supplementary Budget is on its way, which, if that happens, will be expressly passed and accordingly makes it the fourth concurrent budget running”, the party chieftain said in a statement partly recapped here.
Another challenge faced by the House is the issue of funds. The Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, revealed that the National Assembly’s annual budget has remained stagnant for 13 years, despite the erosive effects of inflation.
He noted that while federal legislature spending has increased during this period, the budgetary allocations have not kept pace, resulting in a funding shortfall. In essence, the National Assembly is facing a financial crunch.”
The National Assembly’s budget has remained unchanged for 13 years, despite inflation, leading to a funding shortage, according to Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.”
Unfinished Business
While the House has made significant strides in passing bills and motions, it is expected to take bold steps in adopting robust resolutions and making firm decisions regarding the fraud and misappropriation uncovered by the committee investigations which are not yet carried out.
The House had pledged to combat corruption through robust legislative oversight of government agencies. Their plan included passing the Whistleblower Protection Bill within the first year, developing technology to enhance oversight efficiency, regularly publishing reports and recommendations, and ensuring timely submission of committee reports. However, these laudable goals remain unfulfilled.
The Whistleblower Protection Bill has not been passed, and no technology has been developed to streamline committee activities.
The Committees are expected to ensure that their recommendations are enforced by Mr. President, but this may prove challenging given the concentration of power.
Building on its accomplishments in legislation, the House is now expected to demonstrate resolve and decisiveness in addressing the fraud and misappropriation exposed by its committees’ investigations.
Many committees operate in isolation, failing to meet deadlines and neglecting need to submit reports to the House, violating the Standing Rules and Constitution. There is little evidence to suggest a genuine effort by the House to tackle corruption.
The Committees must ensure that their recommendations are implemented by the President, although this may be hindered by the existing power dynamics.
