Mr Abbas is reportedly planning to increase the number of the standing committees to 145 from 110.
A group, African Parliamentary Advocacy and Reform Group (APARG), has warned the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, against the planned increase in the number of the standing committees of the House to 145.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its director, Chibuzo Okereke, the group asked for a downward review of the House standing committees from the current 110 to 60.
Mr Okereke frowned at the Balkanisation of committees by successive speakers since 1999, noting that committees are being used as bargaining chips to reward allies.
He said the group is aware that Mr Abbas has concluded plans to increase the number of the committees further to reward lawmakers.
"We have credible information suggesting that the 10th House of Representatives may have further increased the number of standing committees from the ninth House of Representatives 109 to an alleged outrageous 145 standing committees," the statement reads.
Mr Okereke noted that several committees in the Ninth House did not sit because of a lack of funds, adding that several other committees depended on ministries, departments and agencies for survival.
"An empirical analysis of the 109 standing committees of the ninth House of Representatives shows that several of the committees did not hold any meetings nor performed any significant legislative activities under their committees throughout the life span of the ninth assembly while some of them held meetings only about three times in the entire four years.
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"What is worst, Mr speaker is that most of the committees, due to the scarce resources of the institution of the National Assembly, are overburdened and risk nearly 100 per cent dependence on the executive MDAs, which they oversight as a source for operational survival in performing their constitutional functions," he said.
Mr Abbas is expected to announce his commitment on Thursday (today).
PREMIUM TIMES in an analysis showed how successive speakers had expanded the committees of the House.
In the fourth House (1999-2003), the number of standing committees was 40. It was increased to 78 under Speaker Aminu Masari in the fifth House, but the sixth House under Patricia Etteh/ Dimeji Bankole reduced it to 68.
The seventh Assembly under Aminu Tambuwal increased the number of the committees to 93, and the eighth Assembly under Yakubu Dogara increased it to 96.
Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila expanded the Committees to 110 before exiting office.
