Today marks the first anniversary of the Eighth National Assembly (NASS) inaugurated this time last year. It is an opportunity for self-assessment and introspection by the 109 members of the Senate and the 360 members of the House of Representatives as well as an auspicious occasion for an assessment of the legislative arm of government by Nigerians and indeed the international community.
The 8th NASS took off on a stormy note following the intrigues and shenanigans that trailed the election of Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Yakubu Dogara. Both leaders emerged in spite of the stated preferences of the majority All Progressives Congress (APC) which nominated Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbagajiamila for the two top legislative offices respectively. The manoeuvres which led to the emergence of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s Ike Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President also torpedoed the chances of APC’s candidates for other critical NASS posts. It is gratifying that all parties in the rancorous leadership selection tussles have since learnt to accommodate one another.
However, the moral question mark arising from the corruption charges levelled against Saraki by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) have continued to cast a shadow over the integrity of NASS especially with the open solidarity shown by senators who accompany him to his trials at the Code of Conduct Tribunal and the latter’s refusal to step aside until judgement is passed on the charges of false declaration of assets and maintenance of foreign bank accounts, a violation of the code of conduct rule for serving public officers.
To make matters worse, the NASS members during their first few sittings concentrated on making generous provisions for their accommodation, sundry allowances, vehicles, severance pay and other welfare packages at a time that the economic hardship resulting from years of mismanagement was becoming unbearable for the vast majority of Nigerians. Following public outrage, the legislators agreed to slash their 2016 budget from N150 billion to N115 billion.
The worst controversy that trailed NASS during the period under review was the attempted ‘padding’ of the 2016 budget proposal personally delivered by President Muhammadu Buhari on December 22, 2015. First, the original budget was declared lost even though it was delivered and received on camera and when it was finally passed on March 23, 2016, it recorded anomalies including removal of the critical Lagos-Calabar rail-line, inclusion of unknown N40 billion projects for the Ministry of Works and 386 projects in the agriculture sector. These were resolved through joint sittings between NASS leaders and the Federal Executive Council but not before attempts were made by groups such as Citizens United for Peace and Stability to occupy the NASS.
We believe that all these notwithstanding, the National Assembly remains a critical bulwark in democratic governance. Legislators make the difference between dictatorship and democracy and the relative inexperience of our legislators can be partly attributed to their frequent absence from governance during the country’s many years of military rule. They must be supported for their role as law-makers and to provide oversight on the functions of the executive and judicial arms of government.
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