In this New Year 2023, the 9th National Assembly has less than six months to wind up its four – year legislative mandate anchored on set agenda. TAIYE ODEWALE reports.
The 9th National Assembly
Like previous National Assembly before it, the commencement of sessions for the 9th National Assembly comprising the Senate and the House of Representatives; started with inauguration on Tuesday, June 11, 2019, upon proclamation to that effect by President Muhammadu Buhari as constitutionally assigned for any sitting President.
At inauguration on the said day, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan emerged as President of the Senate and by extension, Chairman of the 9th National Assembly, while Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila emerged as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Paradigm – shift driven legislative agenda
Being an Assembly that came after the 8th, which had frosty relationship with the executive arm of government from June 2015 to June 2019, it resolved right from day one to have legislative agenda that would guide its legislative conducts within the prism of separation of powers among the three arms of government for required good governance in the country but with results – delivery driven harmonious working relationship with the executive arm of government.
This was clearly stated in separate speeches delivered after inauguration by Senator Ahmad Lawan as President of the Senate and Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Within such clear cut agenda, Lawan in his speech titled: “The Senate that works for Nigerians”, said: “We are going to work collaboratively with the executive arm of government to strengthen our planning and budget linkage that ensures effective service delivery and fulfilment of essential government obligations to the citizens, while taking care of the perennial delays in our annual appropriation bill passage and implementation.
“I want to seize this opportunity to tell the entire nation, particularly, those that are in doubt, that the Senate and indeed the legislature, is going to operate independently in accordance with its own rules, procedures and time honoured norms and best practices. While working closely with the executive arm to deliver the dividends of democracy to the Nigerian people.
“Our legislative agenda will focus on enacting laws and strengthening existing laws to facilitate the reforms required to truly take our nation, our people and our economy to the next level.
“Within us as a Senate, our leadership will commit to partnership rather than partisanship and between us and the executive arm of government, we will choose unity of purpose over conflict and discord while also working towards further strengthening and guaranteeing our independence and that of the judiciary”.
On the same template, Gbajabiamila in his own speech anchored on “Nation Building, A Joint Task”, said: “Whatever political party each one of us may belong, we must be conscious of the fact that Nigerians are truly desirous of good governance and are looking to us to be the agents that will through meaningful legislation combat security, poverty, corruption and other problems and contradictions that have held our country back and stunted our development.
“It is this message of unity and coming together that informed the theme of our campaign…NATION BUILDING, A JOINT TASK. We have decided to carry this theme into the operations of the 9th Assembly”.
Operationally, the two Chambers, weeks after inaugurations, came up with legislative agenda as roadmaps for their conducts and actions.
Specifically, in the Senate such an agenda was presented on Wednesday, September 25, 2019 by Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee set up for that purpose, Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central).
Aliero in presenting the agenda described as strategic framework that aims at strengthening the internal operations and processes of the Senate in carrying out its constitutional duties of legislation, oversight and representation, informed fellow Senators that it contained legislative reforms aimed at improving Senate’s performance and effective engagement with other arms of government to achieve robust legislative interventions, institutional reforms and national development.
Highlights of the agenda as presented and adopted by the Senate were: Institutional Needs Assessment; Review of the Existing Standing Rules, 2015 as amended; Transparency and Accountability; Capacity Enhancement; Good Governance – Law making; National and Sub-national Initiatives; Sectoral Reforms and Interventions; Economic Growth: Diversification; Revenue, Budget and Appropriation; Communication Strategies and Civic Engagement and Monitoring and Evaluation.
In a similar agenda setting, the House of Representatives in 2019, also came up with document listing critical issues such as engagement of critical stakeholders on early national budget presentation and passage, deployment of information and communication technology in legislative activities at the plenary and committee sittings; as well as recognition and honouring of patriotic Nigerians.
Other reforms were the creation of community police, opening up of the finances of the House to the public, special corruption courts and the separation of the Federal Ministry of Justice from the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation with emphasis on the saying that “every legislative action we take will have an identifiable positive benefits on the lives of the Nigerian people on whose behalf, and at whose pleasure we serve.”
Evaluation of implementation of the agenda
Apparently evaluating implementation of the Agenda, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan in his New Year message to Nigerians titled: “We have kept faith with the Nigerian Prince” said: “The ninth National Assembly has been a very active participant in this process of nation building.
“At our inception in 2019, we set out a robust Legislative Agenda to advance our collective aspirations as a nation and make positive impacts in the lives of our people. As senate that works for Nigerians. We have remained unwavering in our commitment to the agenda.
“It is less than six months to the end of this Assembly. I am proud to say that all of us have kept faith with the Nigerian people as their representatives.
“The ninth Assembly has been the breaker of many legislative jinxes in this Fourth Republic, having recorded breakthroughs in many areas of our national legislative environment that had defied the interventions of previous Assemblies.
“First and foremost, we have enhanced stability in governance through productive cross-party collaboration with the other arms of government, particularly the Executive. This has yielded fruits in the unprecedented number of quality Bills passed by the National Assembly and duly signed into law by the President.
“Some of the most critical of such Bills that have been signed into law include the Deep Offshore and inland Basin Production Sharing Contract (amendment) Act, 2019, Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020, Nigeria Police Reform Act, 2020, Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, and Electoral Act, 2022, just to mention a few. These are critical legislative interventions relevant to the promotion of good governance in our dear nation.
“For instance, the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill 2022 has rekindled interest in political participation in our country and raised confidence in our electoral process. We passed this Bill early enough and with some innovations to guarantee better conduct of our elections especially beginning from the 2023 elections.
“We were also able to reset our financial years to make our budget cycle stable and predictable. This change has helped immensely in the implementation of projects and programmes, as well as in general performance of the national budgets. This is one legacy of the ninth National Assembly that we have sustained since 2019, as reflected again, in the passage of the 2023 Appropriation Bill on Wednesday, 28th December, 2022.
“I am immensely proud that the new Electoral Act has ignited fresh hope in the system and heightened expectations about the forthcoming general elections.
“In addition, we have provided every possible support to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to successfully conduct credible polls and we will continue to do so until that goal is accomplished.
“The 9th National Assembly will keep providing the necessary legislative interventions for good governance till the end of its tenure in June, 2023.
“I urge all of us Nigerians to take active part in the electoral process, towards achieving our collective goal of good governance for national prosperity and unity”.
Constitution review exercise as albatross
Though the N21.8trillion 2023 Appropriation bill passed for third reading last week Wednesday by both Chambers of the National Assembly, will be signed into law today (Tuesday, January 3, 2023) by President Muhammadu Buhari in sustaining the yearly January to December budget implementation cycle but seeming failure of the Constitution Review Exercise carried out by the 9th Assembly, robbed its Legislative Agenda 100% success as some critical reforms on the system planned to carry out through it, got stalled.
Nevertheless, by general evaluation, for the 9th National Assembly under the Senate presidency of Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan and House Speakership of Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila; it has been substantial implementation of its legislative agenda aimed at facilitating good governance in Nigeria.
