In the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, things are no longer the same . Sadly. the centre can no longer hold at the nation's apex lawmaking body. Pundits are however, saying that it would be naïve at this time for any body to still see the unending row between the Senate and House of Representatives as only a political drama that will end the way of similar ones in the past.

Evident abound that both legislative houses are fast becoming two parallel lines that can no longer meet.

Sadly, the whole thing has beginning to take its toll on the workings of the National Assembly. Even the bureaucracy is becoming more agitated as it has become a taboo in the recent time for the management to initiate any event that requires joint participation of lawmakers from both chambers.

Emerging signals suggest that it may be too difficult for the two chambers to go into joint business or session in a near future. Except for money bill (annual budget) and other issues of mutual interest every other legislative action may have to suffer as both sides appear unrelenting in the battle of supremacy.

The row which became more pronounced last February in Minna, Niger state capital, when 44 members of the lower House staged a walk out on the two-day inaugural retreat of the constitution review is fast assuming a more dimension by the day. All efforts to reconcile the two sides by some prominent Nigerians have failed.

Spokesman of the Senate, Senator Ayogu Eze in a recent outburst declared that it would be unpatriotic for any one to still pretend that all is well with the National Assembly.

Senator Eze like some other Nigerians that had reacted to this, warned that the cold war may become a major threat to the nation's democracy unless urgent steps are taken to erase the mutual suspicion among the lawmakers.

Before now the two chambers would want to go on recess the same day and resume session the same period,

The key actors in the unending row are busy dancing to the war drum perceived to be coming from the same mendacious political jobbers said to be working for the unrelenting anti -democratic forces in the land. There are fears in some quarters that the unending hostility may have become a major threat to the democracy itself.

Sadly, the two legislative houses hardly agree on any issue in the recent times. Some bills that would have ordinarily made positive impact on the life of over 140 million Nigerians if passed into law had suffered on the floor of both chambers .

Some of the bills already passed by the House had failed to secure the concurrence of the senate for it to be forwarded to president Umaru YarAdua for assent. There are fears that many of such bills already before the two houses may not see the light of the day going by the mood of the lawmakers and the wish of their sponsors who are waiting in the wing to celebrate a possible collapse of the democracy.

Just recently, the Senate killed a bill which has already been passed by the lower House apparently as a pay back to the House which has refused every entreaties to return to the joint committee on constitution review. Except the 2009 supplementary bill, the two houses had in the last six months failed to agree on any other bill or any other government policy ,that by convention requires the blessing of the National Assembly for it to become a true government policy.

Things are, indeed, no longer the same in the National Assembly. In june this, year the Senate had to dump its planned fun fair and activities slated to mark the end of second legislative year and indeed two years of uninterrupted existence of the legislature in Nigeria.

A joint budget of over N200million was approved for the funfair, a joint committee was also conceived to organize a befitting show.

Trouble started the following day when the House planning committee only decorated the House wing of the National Assembly. Source alleged that part of the Senate were decorated initially ,only for the House committee to remove them the next day when it was obvious that the Senate had pulled out the bash.

Both were said to be working on joint celebration, but things suddenly changed as some senators saw it as a pay back time for the House which many believe started the fight in the first place.

The Senate opted for a low keyed event and most senators on the day of the celebration refused to look to the side of the House nor did the leadership of the Senate honour the House invitation to grace the event.In fact, it was as if nothing happened the next day when senate resume session Most senators

The battle became more intriguing and curious too recently, when the senate over ruled the House on the powers of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) to extend N620 billion life line to the eight troubled banks

For the House , it was sacrilegious for the CBN Governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi to have injected the said fund into the troubled banks without recourse to the National Assembly.

The House Committee on Banking in a stormy session with the CBN governor that the injection of such fund was a violation of section 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution which empowers the National Assembly to prescribe the way and manner public fund ought to be spent.

Though Sanusi told the House that he acted within the law, most lawmakers still think that Sanusi was wrong in his action and therefore should be cut down ' before he becomes another monster'

Sanusi in his defence cited the Banking and other Financial Institutions(BOFI) Act and the CBN Act which empowers the CBN as the banker of last resort to come to the rescue of any troubled bank.

Chairman of the committee, Hon. Ogbuefi Ozomgbochi in his remarks at the session told the tough talking Sanusi that he would not go unpunished for such act except if he cite any law that is superior to the constitution that empowers him to deep his hand into the treasury without the approval of the National Assembly,

There were expectations that the Senate which was then on recess will join the House in calling for Sanusi's head when it resume sitting last month.

Rather than ask its committee on banking to conduct a public hearing on the injection of the said N620 billion into the trouble banks by the CBN, the Upper House decided to invite Sanusi and the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime (EFCC), Mrs Farida Waziri to a closed session to discuss the circumstances surrounding the bail out,

Senate in a bid to floor the House in the handling of the saga, suddenly became so courteous and treated Sanusi and Waziri to a red carpet reception .

The duo were given time to just explain their action without the usual throwing of verbal punches to the two visitors who of course may have lost count how many times they have appeared before the standing committees of both chambers

Senator Eze in a briefing at the end of the closed session said that Senate was satisfied with the explaination of Sanusi .

"I want to report to you that having met with Sanusi, and Waziri behind closed doors and listened to them painstakenly about some of the discoveries they have made and about some of the methods deployed to achieve the results they have achieved; we are today speaking categorically clear that there is nothing that we have found in the method and in the process that is against the law. What the EFCC has done is correct and what the CBN Governor has done is also right in the eyes of the law.

"We have resolved that the Senate will give them all the legislative backing and create all the legislative instrument necessary to battle corruption, because in spite of the fact that much lip service has been paid to the fight against corruption in the past, the effort of the present crop of people who are fighting corruption appeared to have paid-off more than any effort in the history of this country and the Senate is satisfied with this development. In one month, as I said before, a hundred and something billion has been recovered by EFCC.

In the past , we have seen so much flash and dash, no conviction, no recovery. This is the first time we have seen real practical action of agencies of government moving all out," said Eze.

The Central Bank Governor has assured us that in spite of the fact that has received, pressures, petitions and entreaties from influential Nigerians to change the course of his investigations, he has refused to be deflected from the assignment he has set himself upon and we have also resolved to back him all the way. If you look at the papers today he told us that he had published the names of some people who are major debtors in the banks, some of them influential people in the society and many more are going to come and we have given him our backing and assurance that we are going to give him support as he goes ahead to expose corruption in accordance with our powers under section 88 and 89 of the Constitution. I think that the press should also join in supporting them to make sure that they deliver on this assignment.

The Senate's position was a total contrast to the resolution of the House on Sanusi.

It however potrayed the National Assembly as a divided house.

There insinuation then that senate would have taken kicked against the CBN action if the House had supported the CBN.

There are fears in some quarters that this show of shame may have become a major threat to our democracy as the key actors and their suspected sponsors in the battle of supremacy between the senate and House of Representatives When the spokesman of the senate senator Ayogu Eze admitted a few weeks ago that the National Assembly was no longer the same courtyesy of the unending battle of supremacy between the two legislative houses, many Nigerians did not in what could go for a self confession of a principle actor in a battle field recently admitted that the National Assembly was no longer the same.

Senator Eze in his rare show of pathroticsm declared that it be a disservice to the nation for any body to pretend as if all was well with the apex lawmaking body.

The senator in his outburst specifically said there was no end in sight in the protracted battle of supremacy between the Senate and House of Representatives.

He warned then that the division was fast becoming a major threat to Nigerias democracy.

Although Senator Eze was not given to frivolus remarks, but 'true confession' as it were was not taken seriously by many Nigerians.The cold war is beginning to take its toll on the primary responsibilities of the National Assembly.

But true to the then predictions in some quarters, the two chambers can hardly agree on any issue. Except money bill, the two legislative Houses had failed in recent time to pass any other bill

The battle of supremecy which became more evident early this year in Minna, Niger state capital, when 44 members of the House staged a walk on the two day retreat of the joint constitution review committee.

Every appeal on the lawmakers to return to the joint committee had fallen on deaf ears. Spokesman of the seante in recent defence however said that both chambers would meet at a point to harmonize their positions.

The sour relationship, however, took a more curious dimension last week when the Senate gave a clean bill of health to the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) Mallam Lamido Sanusi.