ENTER THE 10TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

The new federal legislature should chart its own course towards enhanced productivity and image, writes Monday Philips Ekpe

It came to pass that the elections for the four top positions in the National Assembly namely, President of the Nigerian Senate, the deputy, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the deputy, which held last Tuesday in Abuja, have all gone the way of those anointed by the hierarchy of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Senator Godswill Akpabio, Senator Jibrin Barau, Honourable Tajudeen Abass and Honourable Benjamin Kalu, respectively, stepped into their new offices with clear leads. Strategies successful. Missions accomplished. The current Assembly, therefore, has, at least, one thing in common with the one it has just succeeded: both leaderships were wished and nursed into existence by the presidency in conjunction with the leaders of the ruling party.

To sticklers for democratic ideals, such a situation is unhealthy as subordination becomes predictable and, in many cases, inevitable. It’s expected, though. Not many followers of our political journey would rank us among the best practitioners of this widely-accepted system of government, even in this part of the world. We’re trying to evolve, making efforts to find our own way around democracy’s intrinsic values of fairness, justice and equity. Sometimes our tactics resemble those applied in the jungle where survival is as good as the texture and volume of the muscle. At other times, we demonstrate our unreadiness or inability to outgrow the ways of our ancestors who were either coerced or willingly surrendered their personal freedoms to stronger men and women in the form of kings, queens, and so on. Whatsoever the rulers wanted in those days often assumed the weight of laws or decrees. It was in the interest of subjects to discover what the preferences of their lords were and act accordingly.

After democracy grew from its rudimentary stages in Greece and began to take root in other progressive countries, not many pundits envisaged that few persons could supplant this noble mode of government, which has as its core strength the wishes of the majority, and still retain the name. But as it moved to places grappling with the rigours of adopting it, democracy took on various characteristics. But let’s take solace in the fact that we’re making progress of some sort. Twenty-four unbroken years into the Fourth Republic should be enough proof of our headway. Senator Akpabio and company can gain inspiration from this profile as they settle into their assignments. They need other catalysts, though. Looking back at previous assemblies, especially the last one, for instance.    

Words are powerful. At the commencement of the ninth National Assembly, its Chairman and President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, announced to the world that under his leadership, the federal legislature would not deny requests from the executive arm headed by former President Muhammadu Buhari. By that, he probably hoped to receive applause from Nigerians who had witnessed the many frictions that defined the relationship between the eighth Assembly led by Senator Bukola Saraki and the Buhari administration. But many people thought differently.

Even with the delays and failures in getting some things done, the Saraki-led lawmakers appeared to have kept the government on its toes thereby fulfilling one of the cardinal functions of legislature. Lawan’s awkward commitment, whatever the motives, carried with it a signature of subservience and a reckless, unfortunate abdication of responsibility. The independence and authority of one arm of government had just been handed over to another by fiat. But, sadly for the Assembly men and women, public perception can’t be so disregarded without consequences. That was how the last Assembly earned the “rubber stamp” tag from Day One, an albatross that followed it to the very end. Thankfully, no such self-sabotage has so far fallen out of Akpabio’s mouth.  

Last Saturday, I watched some members of the ninth Assembly give their valedictory remarks. Some were, of course, more convincing than others. And it was obvious that all were united in hoping that posterity would be kind to them. One principle which guides my assessment of persons and situations is that no matter how bad they look, there must be some good in the mix. Somewhere, somehow. So, even with its largely self-afflicted negative image, you can’t take away from the ninth Assembly certain key contributions to our national development: The resetting of the nation’s budget cycle to run from January to December. Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts (Amendment) Act 2019. Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020. Police Act 2020. Petroleum Industry Act 2021. Electoral Act 2022, among others. The deep offshore law has already brought at least one billion dollars into government coffers. The PIA which was in the making for nearly two decades has led to the establishment of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, and other initiatives that stimulate growth in arguably the most vital sector of the economy.

According to Senator Lawan in his final speech as head of the federal law-making body last weekend, “As of June 10th 2023, over 1,129 bills were presented on the floor of the Senate, and over 500 were successfully passed. The president assented to 131 bills, the highest of any Assembly in Nigeria’s history. In the last few days, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has assented to two bills passed by the 9th National Assembly, namely the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Fifth Alteration, No.37) Bill, 2023, which extends the retirement age of high court judges, and others, from 65 to 70 years.” Only last Monday, the president also signed into law the Student Loan Bill that was proposed by former Speaker Rt. Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila and passed by his colleagues late last month. 

Earlier in May, while addressing members-elect of the 10th Assembly, Lawan tried his hand on record-straightening, image-mending and legacy-positioning. His words: “When the (first) two arms of government come together, working together, partnering and synergising to ensure that services are provided for the citizens, government delivers services better, more efficiently and more effectively…. Hence, under my leadership, the ninth National Assembly adopted a friendly but professional approach to executive-legislature relations focused on a harmonious working relationship based on mutual respect, consultation, cooperation, collaboration and partnership…. We feel that we must tell our story. We will not allow anybody else to tell stories about us from his jaundiced point of view.”

No clarifications (spin, in the valuation of some people) would erase soon the negative memories many citizens have about the immediate past Assembly and, actually, some others before it. They include accusations of budget-padding, disproportionate self-indulgence, crooked constituency projects, probes into the activities of agencies that amounted to little, and the endorsement of too many loans for the Buhari government. This last point directly accounts for Nigeria’s embarrassing, crippling and slavish debt status today. Up till the last rounds of their sitting, the legislators were still approving borrowing for an administration that was trying, without success, to justify the billions of naira and dollars it had taken on several occasions from domestic and foreign lenders.

This newly-inaugurated Assembly should make conscious attempts to toe more noble, selfless, exemplary and patriotic lines. Luckily, it is dominated by rookies. The argument that this could hamper legislative proceedings rooted in experience might hold to some extent, but injecting fresh blood into the red and green chambers which are in dire need of innovativeness, pragmatism and agility couldn’t have come at a better time. The citizenry deserves reassurance on the benefits of democracy. It mustn’t be taken for granted. No other leg of government epitomises representative governance than the legislature. Through wholesome representation, various ethnicities and other groupings find their voices and feel a sense of belonging. The Assembly is that critical. 

Dr Ekpe is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board