BETWEEN THE EIGHTH AND NINTH ASSEMBLY

The difference is clear, argues Faruq Atofarati

The National Assembly has always been known to be a notorious puppet to the Presidency. This time, the Ninth Assembly – strictly on account of blind motives for borrowing and increasing the country’s foreign debts, is jeopardising the future of every Nigerian on the ground that government is “building Infrastructure”.

Without minding the state of things, insecurity is causing Nigerians to wallow in melancholy. They have lost so much to the destruction orchestrated by bandits, kidnappers, and other perpetrators of terror. The ninth assembly sounded so loud around its first two years while celebrating. Premium Times described this thus: “the session which lasted for hours, was dominated by songs of praises with lawmakers taking turns to pat themselves at the back for a ‘job well done.”

The apparent air of self-praise in the chamber resulted from the overwhelming presence of the meager minds in the Senate, putting themselves above the totem pole, even though, while scoring themselves high, their success says otherwise.

Apart from the “January – December budget cycle” which has become the “accomplishment slogan” of the ninth assembly, the “zazu” of the administration, would hardly not surface as a subject in any speech given by the present Senate President, Dr. Ahmed Lawan. This seems to be the height of their achievements.

The ninth assembly also boasts of maintaining a “cordial relationship with the executive arm”, led by President Muhammadu Buhari. Unfortunately, the cooperation has put Nigerians in a more backward state in terms of economy, finance, and security. The “herder-cow” relationship with the Presidency, has made the ninth assembly a non-productive one, always dancing to the tune of the paymaster.

It should however be noted that many setbacks suffered by the immediate past National Assembly were because of the poor relationship it had with the executive arm.

The ninth assembly has also passed crucial bills which include “the Deep off-Shore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act CAP (Amendment Bill, 2009), which is aimed at increasing Nigeria’s share of the revenue in her crude oil. Other bills on Finance which amended the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, 2019, sought to create a legal environment conducive for ease of doing business. The assembly also boasts of its quick response to the outbreak of COVID-19.

Sadly, since the assumption of the ninth assembly, the Senate President and his colleagues are so much indebted to Nigerians for running a National Assembly which works as an appendage of the executive, leaving the excesses of the executive unchecked. And the Senate President, is playing very well the role of executive ‘loyalist’, granting every request by the executive without proper scrutiny.

While the unending loans being negotiated by the National Assembly continue to create a psychological burden for most Nigerians, it also has ruined the administration’s credibility. Nigerians’ future remains, a staggering drunk man, walking beside a deep gutter filled with sewage from a cassava processing industry.

In the last 31 months, the ninth assembly has recorded more failures: inability to keep the house checked as regards one misconduct by members or another. The non-compliance with resolution and the Senate’s reluctance to appropriately respond as a result of the “client-customer” approach is another hallmark of the National Assembly.

Also, the poor habits of embarking on frequent holidays, resuming plenary sessions late, budget padding (a recurrent problem) in the National Assembly, and other celebrated abnormalities continue to plague the federal legislature.

It should, however, be recalled that the previous National Assembly suffered from the speculations that its chairman, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, had poor regards for Nigerians and stalled the progress of the Buhari administration through the decline and rejection of the frequent loans request by the Presidency. However, the arrival of the ninth assembly under the leadership of Lawan has corrected all that. Now, the eighth assembly has become a subject of praise and admiration.

Saraki, known for rejecting the request for foreign loans made without the requisite explanations and itemization of the intended projects for which the loans were to be deployed. The chairman of the eighth assembly is a knowledgeable man in terms of finance and economy. He maintained his stance on strict adherence to the law, rules, procedures, and guidelines. It now appeared that Saraki in taking those decisions placed national interest before and above any personal motive of the ‘money-ticians’.

For most of the period between 2015 and 2019, the eighth assembly leader was cast as an outcast, viewed with suspicion, and subjected to vicious propaganda. A completely different personality from Lawan, who poses as merely obsequious sheep, following orders dutifully from Buhari and the entire Presidency.

At the peril of his ambition, Saraki protected the integrity of the National Assembly and stood against the excesses of the executive. All these became his cardinal sins and motivation for ensuring that he did not return to the Senate. Of course, political propagandists ensured he was painted as the obstacle to Nigeria’s development under the Buhari administration. Sadly, the lies worked. The false narratives trended. And people believed.

In his four years, he drew criticism because of his policy, though, the Senate that he led successfully passed the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, Not-Too-Young-To-Run Bill, Police Reform Bill, Police Trust Fund Bill, North East Development Bill and made other strategic interventions in policy and governance.

Also, the National Assembly in 2017 published line by line details of the National Assembly budget. It was the first time since 2010 when the Senate under former Senate President, David Mark, blocked disclosure.

Also, the eighth assembly activated the provision of the 2014 National Health Act which provides that one percent of the National Consolidated Fund be set aside in every budget to fund Basic Healthcare. In that fiscal year, over N35 billion was set aside for primary healthcare. It was one big service to the ordinary people at the grassroots. In May 2019, the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, said 22 states showed interest in accessing the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF). This would not have been possible without the intervention of the Senate under Saraki.

The Eighth Senate set a record in bill passage with 317 bills passed, though out of pure animosity and rivalry, most of the bills were not assented to by the President. Fortunately, the ninth Senate is dusting up those rejected bills and passing them. Two examples of these are the Police Reforms Bill and the Company and Allied Matters Act (amendment) Bill. The two have since become laws with little adjustments made by the ninth assembly. The number of bills passed by the eighth Senate is unprecedented in the history of the upper chamber of the federal legislature since 1999.

On security which has proved to be a hard nut to crack, till today, the Senate under Saraki showed interest. One of its numerous contributions was the well-attended security summit it held in 2018. The summit generated several ideas which the Buhari administration refused to implement. Apart from the summit, the legislators, almost every week, passed resolutions on security-related issues, although, few of those were implemented by the executives. Several bills, including the NEDC Bill, the Police Trust Fund Bill, Police Reform Bill, and others that were aimed at making the security agencies well-funded and well-positioned to secure Nigerians and their properties were passed.

All this begs the question: Why was the public made to believe that the Eighth Assembly under Saraki’s leadership was responsible for stalling Nigeria’s growth and development? Why did the various lies peddle against him continue to suffice and prevail?

Atofarati wrote from Ilorin, Kwara State.