Unknown to many, the House of Representatives has put some bills in the works despite its burden. When the APC took the centre stage in the new dispensation, the expectation of Nigerians shot to the rooftops.
Many Nigerians believed that the era of institutional profligacy, crass impunity and corrupt tendencies in the APC-dominated chamber were gone for good, especially, on the integrity of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Naturally, with the performance of the APC in the National Assembly elections, many believed that the change mantra of the ruling party will not only be visible in the executive arm of government, but will also be allowed to permeate to the parliament. The electorate had expected quality legislations, profound oversight and robust representation.
However, with almost three months gone, the National Assembly is still struggling to find its footing in terms of lawmaking and quality representation. But there is a slight difference in what obtains in the Red Chamber from the show in the Green Chamber. Sequel to the inauguration of the Eighth House on June, 9, a protracted face-off over leadership positions became an albatross that impeded the work of the lower legislative chamber. Members spilt into camps and physically assaulted one another. The seeming apathy of the APC on zoning in the wake of its resounding victory over the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 28 and April national elections became a catalyst for a free for all on the floor of the House over majority leadership positions. The development triggered two forced adjournments in a bid to calm frayed nerves and prevent the House from recording fatalities as was the case in the Sixth House.
The fracas also became a subject of litigation as two members of the House of Representatives, Abubakar Lado Abdullahi (APC, Niger) and Olajide Abdul Jimoh (APC, Lagos), in the suit with file no, FHC/ABJ/CS/625/2015 before the Federal High Court, Abuja, praying the court to grant an order restraining the Speaker for not toeing party lines.
Apart from two holidays in the early life of the Eighth House, it has gone on another six-week recess to the chagrin of Nigerians, who believe that to whom much is given, much is expected.
Though the incendiary issue of party list for majority positions which began with the party’s June 23letter to Dogara, has been resolved, the lingering question is if the impression of the Eighth House as a mace- grabbing, punch- throwing, missile-hurling and clothes-sripping chamber will ever be erased in the mind of Nigerians.
However, despite being combative in its approach to issues and contrary to the people’s impression, 10 out of the 37 bills listed in its official gazette, have scaled through the first reading the Eighth House of Representatives.
Speaker Dogara has also inaugurated a committee to conduct a Needs Assessment of the running of the House of Representatives/National Assembly. The committee members, drawn from Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other eminent Nigerians, has a mandate to “judiciously determine the proper cost of running the legislative arm of government to enable it play its constitutionally assigned responsibilities.”
In other words, the committee will answer the question: is N120 billion to little or too much for the National Assembly to operate.
An area the House is being cautious is the selection of committees because of its touchy nature. No doubt, the non-constitution is slowing down operations as the House has been operating with ad-Hoc Committees, an arrangement that cannot be as effective as standing committees.
The House has also increased committees from 89 to 95, which many said counter Dogara’s cost-saving promise in his legislative agenda.
In terms of motions and resolutions on issues affecting Nigeria and Nigerians, the House could be said not to have done too badly but the quick succession of recesses has given many citizens the impression of the lawmakers as a pack of overpaid but under-utilised lawmakers.
For a legislature that many expect to be a reflection of the change mantra as espoused by the President, the vicious struggle for leadership positions shocked Nigerians, who had been hitherto indifferent to political happenings and happenstances.
A flurry of activities by the Speaker may have confirmed the assertions that the crisis-prone Green Chamber will take a longer time to settle down to its statutory mandate of legislating for good governance.
In the first instance, the House has adopted a draft legislative agenda to give the Eighth House focus and a sense of direction. Also, the House ad hoc-Committee on Rules and Business listed 37 new bills for consideration prior to the resumption of the House on July 28, of these bills, only 10 had so far passed first reading before it went on a six-week break.
The Speaker has his name as co-sponsor on four of the gazetted bills. They are: Public Interest Disclosure Bill, 2015; Subsidiary Legislation (Regulation) Bill, 2015; Federal Competition Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2015 and Data Protection Bill, 2015.
Sixteen of the 37 bills are being sponsored by a member, Uzoma Nkem-Abonta.
They include: Police Act (Amendment) Bill, 2015; Satellite Towns Development Agency Bill, 2015; Statutory Instrument (Legislative scrutiny) Bill, 2015; National Programme on Immunisation (Repeal) Bill, 2015; National Primary Health Care Development Agency (Amendment) Bill; Petroleum Refineries Incentives, Regulation and Miscellaneous Provision) Bill, 2015; Environmental Managers Registration Council of Nigeria Bill, 2015 and Chartered Institute of Project Management of Nigeria Bill, 2015.
Others are: Federal Capital Territory Area Councils (Administrative and Political Structure) Bill, 2015, Free Trade Zones Bill, 2015; International Trade Commission Bill, 2015; Telecommunication Facilities (Lawful Interception of Information) Bill, 2015; Investment and Securities (Amendment) Bill, 2015; Gender Equal Opportunities Bill, 2015; Emergency Communication Bill, 2015 and Commodity Exchange Bill, 2015.
Another lawmaker, Gideon Gwani is sponsoring 10 bills. They include: Environmental Health Bill, 2015; Environmental Health Officers (Registration, etc.) Act 2002, (Amendment) Bill, 2015; Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan Bill, 2015; Chartered Institute of Human Capital Development of Nigeria Bill, 2015 and Nigerian Agency for Foreign Assistance Bill, 2015, National Judicial Institute (Amendment) Bill, 2015; Chattered Institute of Management Information Technology of Nigeria Bill, 2015; Federal Roads Authority Bill, 2015; Nigerian Railway Authority Bill, 2015 and Nigerian Postal Commission Bill, 2015.
Ossai Ossai (PDP-Delta) has six bills to his credit. They are: Two Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) Bills, 2015; Federal Capital Territory District Court (Amendment) Bill, 2015; Pension Rights of Judges (Amendment) Bill, 2015; Companies and Allied Matters (Amendment) Bill, 2015 and National Industrial Court (Amendment) Bill, 2015.
In the last legislative session, 767 bills were introduced and passed through first reading. Of the lot, 679 were private bills and 70 emanated from the Executive arm, which spanned the four-year term.
Besides petitions and matters of urgent national importance, the Green Chamber treated an average of 12 motions at the plenary sessions of the last few days before the House adjourned on August 13.
Some of the resolutions passed and their sponsors include: urging the federal government to set up Northeast Development Commission (Yakubu Dogara and others); Representatives to investigate N430 billion Ikorodu-Shagamu Road reconstruction project (Babajimi Benson); the investigation of non-payment of 3,600 midwives (Mark Igbillah); setting up the Haman Pategi-led ad-Hoc Committee to probe the non-implementation of capital allocations (Patrick Asadu); urging President Buhari to constitute the Council on Public Procurement (James Faleke); telling the Federal Government to fill INEC Vacancies (Edward Gyang Pwajok); urging the Federal Government and Police Commission to employ more policemen (Uzo Abonta ); investigating the accounting procedure of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over N89 billion deduction (Abubakar Amuda Kannike).
Other resolutions passed are: decision to investigate state of AGIP, other oil companies’ equipment; inviting Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor to face Representatives over the new dollar policy; intervention in ALSCON stalled re-opening; investigating the Federal Government over N4 trillion debt owed contractors.
With the majority leadership issue resolved and the House at peace with itself, many have predicted that the House will settle down to business upon resumption on September 28 and that the expectations of the teeming Nigerians voted for change would be met.
The two chambers cannot but shape up for the challenges ahead. If the mood of the nation and the expectations of the electorate are anything to go by, any sign of deliberate floppiness on the part of the lawmakers could trigger public indignation. Nigerians appear in a hurry to reap the dividends of the change they voted for and the National Assembly must not be seen to constitute a clog in the wheels.
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