Still on Speaker Tajudeen Abbas’ Legislative Agenda and 2024 Budget

By Idowu John Bakare

With the recent launch of a Legislative Agenda for the House of Representatives by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, a clear roadmap has been set for robust parliamentary engagement for the 10th National Assembly. It is particularly significant that the unveilng of the House’s Legislative Agenda came ahead of the presentation of the 2024 Appropriation Bill by President Bola Tinubu to the joint session of the National Assembly. To underscore the commitment of the House to this vision, the Speaker embarked on a one-day retreat with chairmen and deputy chairmen of standing committees of the House last Monday.

In his address to participants at the workshop, Speaker Abbas hinted on the planned budget presentation and the need for the Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen to consider and finalise the budget within two weeks. he however, added a caveat “without compromising the integrity of the process.” Two weeks to attend to a national budget looks like a tall order for members whose overwhelming majority are without cognate experience. Regardless, many of the lawmakers are accomplished men and women in their various endeavors. That perhap explains in part the essence of the retreat where the speaker wasted no time to remind his colleagues the pivotal role of committees as the “engine room” of the parliament. He was quick to note that through committees, members develop subject matter expertise and undertake more detailed review and scrutiny of bills and other government policies.

Speaker Abbas’ quest for a speedy passage of the 2024 budget is in line with his avowed commitment to a dutiful and focused 10th Assembly and also in response to the mood of the nation to foster cooperative legislative partnership, one that would deliver the much-awaited dividend of the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President. This should not be surprising. While presenting his 8-Point Legislative Agenda earlier in November, the Speaker had said that “the House of Representatives unveiled the agenda with a commitment to deploy every legislative instrument towards meeting the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.” He assured the House of the commitment of the executive as they discharge their duties for good governance.

Indeed, the legislative agenda for the 10 National Assembly is geared towards strengthening good governance, economic development, improving national security, law reform, economic growth and development, inclusion and open parliament. Other areas of focus include: Influencing foreign policy and climate change, and environmental sustainability. According to the Speaker, the House is dedicated to fostering an environment that promotes sustainable economic growth, and development. “We shall use every legislative tool at our disposal to create jobs for our teeming youths, address the challenge posed by poverty, improve infrastructure, ensure top quality and affordable healthcare and provide security for all Nigerians.”

The Agenda identified areas for legislation and intervention. All committees are required to integrate the Agenda to their respective work plans. Similarly, members are to ensure that legislative proposals, including bills, motions et.al are in accordance with the provisions of the Agenda. The adopted structure indicates short, medium and long-term milestones and key performance indicators to track progress easily. The implementation framework is designed to allow for flexibility in responding to emerging issues or crises. To ensure seamless delivery of objectives, the Speaker set up a legislative Agenda Monitoring and Implementation Committee as a guarantee of fidelity to the agenda. “I charge citizens to hold us to task on the articulated issues and even more,” Mr. Speaker said.  

Expectedly, the House is not alone in this. The Speaker ensured that the Senate is on the same page with the Green Chamber. President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio who was at the event lauded the House for leading the way in unveiling its legislative agenda. The senate president minced no words in commending the effort even as he reiterated the need for “one nation, one destiny, one president and one House. “We must always concur and agree before any bill becomes  an Act of Parliament. So, there is no difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate, we are working for one cause,” an elated Akpabio had remarked.

Speaking on the budget, the speaker stressed the need to prioritise the budget around welfare programmes, poverty alleviation, youth employment, job creation and priority on healthcare. He said the House will convene a budget town hall meeting to enable the Nigerian people to participate and make input into the 2024 budget, adding that it will be the first time such an engagement is planned at the national level. He said further that the House was committed to greater and more transparent engagement with the public as a necessary step towards reducing suspicion, building trust, and generating support for the work of the National Assembly. With the meeting of minds on the expectations of Nigerians, it does appear that the National Assembly and the Executive Arm are poised to deliver on Mr. President’s Renewed Hope Agenda. Nothing short of this is expected after all.

*Idowu John Bakare is a senior aide to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. He writes from Abuja.