Abuja — The Road Less Travelled... Once, the venerable oracle at Delphi in old Greece was asked who the wisest man in the world was. The inscrutable, mysterious seer quipped - Socrates; because he knows he knows nothing.

From the current fractious course the nation's bi-cameral federal parliament is treading, it may become necessary to present the quirky poser to the all knowing Delphic oracle: The Senate and House of Representatives, which is superior? But the catch in such a project would be that a verdict will generate even more high-decibel controversy. At a deeper level, what is currently transpiring in the sedate ramparts of the National Assembly apparently goes beyond a mere supremacy contest. It also has implications for the sustenance of democracy and survival of the Fourth Republic.

Perhaps the most dramatic demonstration of the lingering vanity feud between the Senate and House of Representatives was the abortion of President Umaru Musa Yaradua's presentation of the 2010 budget, last Thursday, by the federal lawmakers' recalcitrance. A significant consensus is emerging that the national lawmakers are pushing their self-interest and personal aggrandizement above critical national matters. Another issue here is also that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) enjoys an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly. Their palpable failure in brokering peace between the dueling chambers suggests critical deficits in top-echelon leadership rungs of the ruling party. This could also spell disaster for the nation's democratic journey.

It's no secret that Nigerians currently chaffing under poor implementation of 2008 and 2009 budgets are likely going to experience another round of below 30% implementation of 2010 budget, if the puzzling supremacy contest is not quickly resolved.

It could be recalled that on Monday, May 11, 2009, President Yar'Adua accused the federal legislators of lethargy. In a covering letter to a bill he sent to the parliament, Yar'Adua slammed the lawmakers for below average performance since he became president some two years earlier. He noted that the legislators had passed just a bill this year and only four in 2008. These included the Certain Political and Judicial Office holders (salaries and allowances, etc) Amendment Act 2008, Appropriation Act 2007, Niger Delta Appropriation Act 2008, Appropriation (Amendment) Act 2008 and the 2009 Appropriation Bill.

Yar'Adua's note also indicated that no private member bill was presented to the President in 2008 for assent, noting that in 1999, the lawmakers passed two laws. These were the two supplementary budget bills of that year. The following year, it passed eight laws while only four sailed through in 2001. Eleven and 29 bills were passed in 2002 and 2003 respectively. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo assented to 21 bills in 2004 and 21 in 2005. The lawmakers passed 14 bills in 2006. In 11 years of democracy, the federal lawmakers passed a little over 115 bills.

As Senate President David Mark read the critical presidential note to his fellow parliamentarians, many of them were shocked by Yar'Adua's anger.

Interestingly, Speaker Dimeji Bankole, who may have foreseen this uncomplimentary presidential flak, had in February warned his colleagues to stop their penchant for raising irrelevant points of order which often slowed down proceedings at plenary sessions.

A curious example was when Hon. Austin Nwachukwu from Imo State, moved that the House commend Halims Agoda and Leo Ogor from Delta State for wearing traditional attires of white lace gowns and wrappers to the House. Bankole stood down the lawmaker saying that the House could not waste time on such trivialities but should rather utilise the time to deliberate on more bills. It was clearly an open admission of under-performance.

Ordinarily, such presidential flak ought to provoke internal reflections that should spur change of course by the lawmakers. But clearly it has not. As things stand, the federal parliamentarians are obviously opting away from a road less travelled - the road of circumspection and moral rectitude. The abortion of presentation of the 2010 budget may be one abortion too many. Willy-nilly, it could lead to other abortions. The most important may be the abortion of democracy in Nigeria. The ruling party may lack the imagination, competence and courage to face-up to this.

As things stand today, several posers take centre stage. These are certainly not ones for the oracle at Delphi to answer. These answers must be home-grown. Are personal egos between the leadership of the bicameral legislature driving the current brinksmanship? Tradition and constitution, which should guide the relations between the Senate and House? Did Prof Alkali, the PDP spokesman goof when he supported the Reps by alluding to tradition instead of constitution? Is what is playing out a Machiavellian script by forces not interested in the democratic growth of the nation? Read on...

Genesis Of A Saga...

Etteh's Removal:

Many Nigerians did not know that the no-love-lost relationship between the Senate and House is actually rooted in the personality clash between Mark and Bankole. It is the battle for supremacy. When the Integrity Group moved against former speaker, Patricia Etteh, an ally of both former President Obasanjo and Senator Mark, the duo made desperate efforts to save the first female speaker from being shoved aside. Bankole was a staunch member of the Integrity Group. But when it became obvious that the Farouk Lawan-led group was out for business, Mark was said to have allegedly stepped in fully influencing the constitution of the investigation panel that probed into the allegations against Etteh. Hence, according to this school of thought, Mark succeeded in getting his supporter and fellow Idoma brother, Hon. David Idoko representing Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency of Benue State to be appointed as the chairman of the panel with the plan to get the lady off the hook. However, the fire-power of anti-Etteh members like Dogara Ladan, Sani Saleh Minjibir, Chiedu Eluemunoh and Nasiru Mohammed proved too much for Idoko to contend with; therefore the report could not be manipulated and Etteh was indicted leading to her forced resignation.

Bankole's Emergence:

Mark is said to have been angered at the manner Etteh was removed and the election of Bankole against the party's candidate, George Jolaoye who polled 20 against Bankole's 304.' This marked the beginning of the feud between the two presiding officers. While Mark is said to consider Bankole as 'small proud boy' with little experience, Bankole feels he is more educated and a better democrat than Mark.

Due to the alleged contempt which Mark and Bankole holds for each other, the personal crisis would soon snowball into Senate verses House drama. Mark's group was said to have began moves to make the seat uncontrollable for Bankole, by attempting to put his (Bankole's) leadership at a rather less powerful position as far as politics in the National Assembly is concerned. While Mark is the chairman of National Assembly, Bankole is the deputy but due to the personal ill feelings they allegedly nursed against each other, Bankole was said to have at a point boycotted most meetings.

Bankole: Claiming His Right...

Outside Mark's unhappiness with Bankole's emergence, the speaker's penchant to asserting his right is said to have not gone down well with the Senate. Even as a young man, he is said to be fearless and does not care whose ox is gored when his rights are been trampled upon.

Having known that the leadership of the Senate was allegedly not at home with his emergence, Bankole is said to have resolved not to give in to their intimidations. The no-nonsense attitude of Bankole in asserting his position played itself out in an interview with Steven Sakur, anchor of the BBC Hard Talk after he became speaker. Sakur had referred to Bankole as leader of the Lower House and Bankole immediately corrected him that there was nothing like Lower House. So, since he became speaker, Bankole has brought the consciousness to bear on the House that both chambers are equal and play complementary roles. The Senate is said to be uncomfortable with Bankole's stance, hence the unending crisis.

The Opening Salvo:

The first major disagreement between the two chambers occurred during the consideration of the 2008 Appropriation Bill. While the Senate had passed a budget of N2.898 trillion, the House of Representatives jerked it up to N2.944 trillion. Given the difference both Houses, constituted a conference committee to harmonise the budget before it could be forwarded to the President for his signature for it to become an Act of parliament. Unfortunately, the committee ran into hitches as both chambers could not agree on a common figure leading to the delay in the passage of the budget. The executive had fixed $53 oil benchmark but in passing the budget, the two chambers raised the benchmark to $59. Besides the benchmark, Senate and House differed remarkably in several areas in passing the budget. However, after receiving a lot of bashing from the general public, the two eventually harmonized the document and it was sent to President Yar'Adua many months into the year.

N188 Billion Virement:

For the second time in 2008, the two Houses clashed over budget issues. President Yar'Adua had sent a request for the virement of N188 billion from 10 ministries. While the House approved the virement, the Senate turned down the request. The amount had covered the Presidential Intervention on Oil Producing States and in the six zones. This also took sometime before the matter was finally laid to rest with the Senate concurring.

Constitution Review:

The issue of superiority became public when the 88-member Joint Committee on Constitution Review (JCCR) converged on Minna, the Niger State capital on January 16, 2009. The JCCR comprising of 44 members each from both the Senate and the House reopened another round of crisis as the two-day retreat scheduled to hold at the main auditorium of the Hydro Hotel ended on a sour note. The bone of contention was over the unseemly chairman and co-chairman imbroglio.

The deputy speaker, Usman Bayero Nafada was listed on the programme as the deputy chairman of the JCCR while deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu was chairman. This development enraged members of the House who promptly staged a walk-out arguing that they could not condone the relegation of their deputy speaker to a second fiddle position.

As a result, the 44 house members left Minna, while the 44 from Senate continued with the retreat. This resulted in s ding-dong affair until the differences could not be resolved leading to separate conduct of the review exercise.

The House members had while protesting the development accused their senate colleagues of hatching a deliberate subterranean plan aimed at hijacking the constitutional review process by adopting what they termed an "undemocratic procedure". The Senate fired back at the reps members condemning the walk out in its entirety. Of course, up till today the conflict has not been resolved leaving Nigerians guessing as to whether the amendment of the 1999 Constitution will ever be achieved by the present set of lawmakers.

Law Suit:

The frosty relationship between the two chambers however took a down-turn when members of group in the House, the Faculty Board of Initiatives, under the leadership of Eseme Eyibo, who is also the spokesman of Reps headed for the Supreme Court. In the suit, the Initiatives, as they are popularly called sought to know the correct interpretation of certain sections of the 1999 constitution in view of the face off between the two chambers of the legislature.

The group maintained that there is need for the court to interpret the provisions of section 4(1), 53(2) and 54(2) of the constitution.

According to them, this would put an end to the perennial face-off between the two chambers. The Supreme Court is expected to make a final pronouncement as to whether the two chambers are equal or one is more equal than the other. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court is yet to rule on this controversy.

Aborted 2010 Budget:

The war of supremacy between the Senate and the House took a turn for the worse as lack of consensus on the venue to host President Yar'Adua forced the number one citizen to postpone presentation of the 2010 Appropriation Bill. This latest crisis was occasioned by the chairman of the National Assembly and Senate president, David Mark by unilaterally deciding that the budget presentation should take place in the Senate chambers departing from the tradition of receiving the budget in the House chambers.

Explaining the sudden change in venue from the House to Senate which has been the practice since 1999, Senate committee chairman on media, Ayogu Eze stated, "The Red Chamber is enough to accommodate everybody. We have enough seats in the chamber to take everybody. And then the issue of venue is not a big deal because it is the prerogative of the chairman of the National Assembly to decide the venue. He can even decide that we go to the banquet hall of the House of Representatives and his decision that the thing should hold here this year does not mean that next year it cannot go to any other venue provided that it is within the National Assembly complex.

"The decision to hold the joint session in the Senate Chamber has nothing to do with any frosty relationship between the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. In any case, I am not even aware that there is any frosty relationship between both leadership. There is no such thing," he said.

But the House in a sharp reaction and protest through its chairman on media and public affairs, Eseme Eyibo, said instead, the president would be compelled to present the budget in each House as enshrined in section 81 (1) of the 1999 Constitution.

He argued that "traditionally it's always been in the House of Representatives, and that tradition is usually informed by the convenience of space and logistics. 360 members in the House of Reps, 109 Senators, the President and his entourage, governors, chieftains of political parties, captains of industry, and members of the diplomatic corps are coming.

"So when I am talking about the convenience of logistics and space, it's the tradition that the House of Reps provides that space to accommodate that audience. And Senate has the capacity to accommodate less than 150. This means that to take 360 members in that kind of space with the president and his team and other stakeholders, for a matter as serious as a national budget, that's number one issue in any governance practice.

"It shows that someone is trying to undermine the relevance and importance of the subject matter, which is the budget. Except the person wants to suggest that if not in the House of Representatives, let's take it to Eagles Square or International Conference Centre, which of course is no longer going to be a legislative affair - it's going to be a comedy or a bazaar.

Both Houses could reach a consensus and the budget presentation was aborted.

Reaction From AC:

The Action Congress (AC) in its reaction to the rift between the two arm of legislature described as 'infantile and diversionary' In a statement issued in Lagos on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the mundane supremacy fight between the Senate and the House of Representatives does not show that the legislators appreciate their role, which is to make laws for the betterment of the country.

It said the fact that the bickering has already led the President to postpone his budget presentation shows that it is a great disservice to the suffering masses of our people, who have continued to wait in vain for this do-nothing National Assembly to make laws that can improve their lives.

"Nigerian federal lawmakers are perhaps the best paid in the world, yet they are turning out to be the least productive. The only time people hear their voices are when they are involved in one scandal or another or when they are haggling over their disproportionate perks.

"When the issues involved affect the common people, who supposedly voted them into power, the over-pampered lawmakers become mute," AC said.

The party recalled that a similar bickering, over who will chair a joint committee of the National Assembly on constitutional reforms, helped to truncate that process, to the chagrin of all Nigerians. It called for an immediate end to the current disagreement over the choice of venue for the budget presentation.

"We are not interested in the arguments for or against the selection of a particular venue, because we do not see how that will contribute to better life for our people. What we want is an immediate resolution of whatever disagreement exists between the Senate and the House so that the President can present the budget," AC further clarified.

The party added: "We also expect the lawmakers to henceforth spend their time at the assembly judiciously, dealing with such issues as why the 2009 budget was poorly implemented, what impact it has on the people and how to ensure a better implementation of the 2010 budget."