10th NASS LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

Chineme Okafor urges the National Assembly to buckle down on its task

By all indices of legislative responsibility, the Ninth National Assembly (NASS) was relatively poor. Its legislative record was so bad that it earned them the moniker, rubber stamp, largely from its subservient relationship with the executive arm against the interest of the republic.

This current 10th NASS looks keen on carrying on that trend to overtake the record of the ninth NASS. This will not be good for Nigeria which desperately needs a sane and firm NASS, not an ego tripping one. Hence, the need for the 10th NASS to buckle down on the actual jobs of legislating.

Just days after its archaic and out-of-touch legislation on the national anthem, the 10th NASS turned on the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), questioning its expenditures on the ongoing Train-7 gas project.

Only the parliamentarians know exactly what they are after with this renewed inquisition on the business of the NLNG, a company that has stayed focused on completing Train-7 for business. I can wager that this inquisition is a wild goose chase, its intentions are unenlightened and certainly not for Nigeria. And like most Nigerians would, I ask: what exactly is the legislative agenda of this 10th Assembly?

Before I remind legislators in the 10th Assembly of their jobs, and why they should really focus on them for the good of Nigeria, let me state that while they saunter on both floors of the NASS chambers, they do that with trifling value to most Nigerians.

Since the NLNG began its operations in Bonny, it has remained profitable to the Nigerian state which is one of its shareholders. Its other shareholders are Shell, Eni and Total.The NLNG has delivered verifiable monetary and material value to Nigeria and its people. For example, it has delivered over USD$40 billion in dividends since it started production 25 years ago. Some 49% of this has gone to the federal government courtesy of its shareholding via the NNPC. As of 2021, its corporate income tax which includes tertiary education tax, paid to the government amounted to about USD$427 million. This is in addition to the support of local manufacturing and entrepreneurial capacity and its contributions in Nigeria’s maritime industry.

NLNG’s Train-7 under construction, which the legislators last week began interrogating the contract and variation requests that are based on varying foreign exchange rates, is primed to augment the value delivery the company represents to Nigeria.

So, does this NASS really understand what its legislative tasks are; and how its renewed mischief against the NLNG could derail Train-7 completion timeline and competitiveness, the government’s gas policy, and further Nigeria’s current economic struggles? I doubt they do. After all the NASS is off tune with reality. Shame it doesn’t even know what Nigerians want.

NLNG’s Train-7 is strategic. It will support Nigeria’s energy transition drive and revenue diversification, bringing the country closer to achieving a net-zero carbon future. Train-7 is central for the monetisation of Nigeria’s vast gas resources, estimated at over 200 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of proven reserves. This project remains an inspiration to other gas investment plans in the country, as well as its acclaimed ‘Decade of Gas initiative.’ This avarice and poor sense of responsibility of the National Assembly risks leaving Nigeria behind in these initiatives.

Should I be telling the NASS what the Constitution they allegedly swore to demand of it? Well, it would be decent to remind them that Nigeria’s Constitution entrusts the NASS at any time or era with a number of jobs, chiefly lawmaking, representation, and oversight. In fact, the sovereignty of the Nigerian people resides in the legislature. This is as simple as it can get.

The powers that the legislature holds are express, implied, and assumed. For example, the legislature can legislate over public funds, alter the Constitution, ratify treaties, oversight the executive arm of government, and probe persons and institutions as witnesses towards public interest inquisition. The NASS is also empowered to supervise and scrutinize government performance by oversighting towards efficient governance, but also ensuring executive compliance with the law.

So, in a healthy democracy, the legislature as a representative body, is the accountability framework of the governed to the leaders; exercising power of regular oversight of executive activities to ensure that they meet the interest of, and realities in the republic.

The people elected to the NASS are to hold the executive arm of government accountable for the exercise of the power and mandate they got from the ballot. Thus, representing the public interest means that the legislators must make sure that the power assigned to the executive are towards the expectations of the people. This has not been the case with this NASS which is on a wild goose chase on how the NLNG is carrying out its Train-7 project.

NLNG confirmed to the NASS that Train-7, with a total contract sum of $4.3 billion, has reached an overall progress of 67% completion, achieved significant construction milestone of over 45 million manhours without any Lost Time Injury (LTI). NLNG also informed the legislators that the project was already delivering on one of its benefits – in-country jobs – with over 9,000 Nigerians working in the project on Bonny Island, in addition to numerous indirect jobs and businesses emerging and booming as a result of the construction. Shouldn’t these be the major concerns of the Assembly?

 Okafor is a business journalist and an academic