The 10th House of Representatives and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas are expected to unfold their legislative agenda as the lawmakers resume after their annual recess.
"I cannot afford to continue to drive down to work again, I have packed the car," Saliu Muhammed, a civil servant at Nigeria's Ministry of Education, laments as he struggles to stretch his legs. He is riding back home from work in the back seat of a saloon car - one of six passengers in a vehicle designed for four passengers.
Mr Muhammed could not complain about the overcrowded vehicle's sitting arrangement. To get the seat, he had fought off dozens of other people waiting for vehicles in front of the Ministry of Education at the federal secretariat complex in Abuja. Their 58-kilometre journey to Gwagwalada will take about one hour; so the six passengers must endure the discomfort of being cramped in the car.
For Mr Muhammed and millions of Nigerians, the economic realities in post-subsidy Nigeria are forcing them to make tough choices as they await the intervention of the government. Many car owners like Mr Mohammed have been parking their vehicles at home because of the high cost of fuel.
On Tuesday, members of the House of Representatives returned from a nine-week recess. Some of them who spent the holiday in their constituencies would have witnessed first-hand the effects of the rising cost of living spurred by the removal of petroleum subsidies and the struggle of the naira in the foreign exchange market.
The National Assembly moved a motion on the economic hardship before they embarked on their annual recess in July, but the action seems not to have yielded any result. Since they left Abuja, inflation has shut up to 25.8 per cent and a dollar now trades for about N1,000 in the parallel market.
Apart from those emergency issues, the federal lawmakers are yet to present their legislative agenda for the session that would enable Nigerians to access their plans for the next four years. Presentation of a legislative agenda at the beginning of an assembly is not mandatory but it has become a tradition of the House.
During his campaign for the speakership seat, Mr Abbas spoke very little about his plans for the office. As a matter of fact, he simply promised continuity of the Femi Gbajabiamila administration.
The first glimpse into his plans emerged from his first speech after his election when he promised that the 10th House would follow the tradition of creating a legislative agenda. He promised that the House would focus on insecurity, economic diversification and employment opportunities for youth.
"We shall introduce reforms and innovations for the benefit of Nigerians. In a few weeks, we shall be reeling out the legislative agenda that will shape the 10th House of Representatives," Mr Abbas said.
Over three months later, the House is yet to roll out the agenda. However, a committee, headed by Julius Ihonvbere, the majority leader of the House, was charged with the responsibility of creating the agenda and is expected to submit it on Tuesday when the lawmakers resume.
X-raying Gbajabiamila's legislative agenda
To project into the future of the 10th House, it may be helpful to review the performance of the 9th House because Mr Abbas said in his inaugural speech that the performance of the Gbajabiamila-led House would be the benchmark for his own.
"Honourable colleagues, under my watch, the 10th House shall sustain and even surpass the gains of the 9th House. That is my prayer. We shall carry out the task before us jointly. We shall introduce reforms and innovations for the benefit of Nigerians. In a few weeks, we shall be reeling out the legislative agenda that will shape the 10th House of Representatives," he said after taking his seat as speaker.
The 9th House (2019-2023) under Mr Gbajabiamila released a legislative agenda which had 15 issues highlighted as priorities for the House. These include; reform of the House of Representatives, social justice, sustainable power, environment and climate change, economic growth, development and job creation, gender equality, education reform, anti-corruption, security and public health.
Others are sustainable agriculture development and food security, open government, transparency and accountability, internally displaced persons, media for national development and national budget reform.
Many believe that the performance of the 9th House was modest. Between 2019 and 2023, the House moved several motions on insecurity, yet banditry and other forms of insecurity intensified during that period and continue to thrive.
In 2020, former President Muhammadu Buhari shunned an invitation to the House over the deteriorating security in the country. Mr Buhari's refusal to appear before the House provoked an uproar in the House but no action was taken against him. Furthermore, the report of the national security summit convened by the House was never considered by the presidency.
On the reform of the House, the Gbajabimaila-led House promised the digitalisation of the House and committees' processes. It even went ahead to install gadgets in the chamber, but the electronic voting gadget was only used once for the constitution alteration bills. That was not a feat for the 9th House because it cannot use a voice vote for constitution alteration, anyway.
On gender equality, the 9th House rejected the five constitution alteration bills that sought to bridge the gender gap in the country.
In the area of oversight, many believe that recent unsavoury revelations from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) point to the failure of the lawmakers to properly provide checks on the executive.
However, the House made some giant strides in the budget cycle by maintaining the January to December cycle and also used "legislative diplomacy" to address some industrial disputes using the "parliamentary diplomacy schemes" coined by Mr Gbajabiamila. In terms of bills, the passage of the Electoral Act, Start-up Act and the Petroleum Industry Act by the Assembly was well received.
What to expect from the 10th House
Security--beyond motions and resolutions
In the 9th House, motions on insecurity always appeared on the order paper - on average, they appeared daily, sometimes more than one motion. However, the summoning of security chiefs and numerous investigative panels had no tangible effect on the nation's security challenges.
This Assembly has also embarked on the same path of summons and investigations.
Mr Abbas had in his inaugural speech said "We will focus on strengthening our security apparatus, collaborating with relevant stakeholders to combat insurgency, terrorism, and all forms of criminalities. We aim to help create a safe and secure environment that fosters economic growth and social stability."
To Nigerians, tackling the security situation is paramount and must go beyond motions and resolutions.
Economy and Appropriation
There is a consensus on the economy - that it is ailing. The House is expected to play a major role in whatever President Bola Tinubu has in stock for the economy. The president had in his manifesto promised economic reforms that would require some changes to the existing laws.
For instance, President Tinubu promised to amend the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to remove bureaucratic impediments to investments in the sector. Most of what the president plans to do may require the approval of the legislative arm.
Nigerians believe the 9th House was complicit in the poor management of the economy, particularly the accumulation of debt because the Assembly approved almost every loan request by former President Muhammadu Buhari. Hence, Nigerians will be watching how the 10th Assembly uses its "stamp" - would it be a "rubber stamp" or "scrutinised stamp"?
Furthermore, the 10th House will be expected to maintain the January-December budget cycle. However, it remains unclear if that will be possible because the executive has yet to submit the 2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper) as of September.
Anti-corruption
One of the functions of the legislature is to combat corruption. To do this, the institution has the power to summon individuals and entities during probes. There are concerns that successive administrations have failed to utilise legislative oversight to check corrupt practices. Section 88 of the 1999 Constitution gives the National Assembly the power to investigate any issue.
However, committees set up to investigate issues have often found themselves ensnared in corruption cases. PREMIUM TIMES had in a recent investigation exposed how a committee of the House tasked to probe alleged job racketeering in the federal civil service turned into an extortion ring.
In the last assembly, several committees that investigated corruption issues did not submit reports and there is no record of anyone or entity that was prosecuted due to the outcome of the probes.
Similarly, the last House failed to pass the proceeds of crimes, whistleblower protection and witness protection bills.
Digital Parliament
Mr Gbajabiamila promised e-parliament on numerous occasions. "We promised e-voting, seamlessly, the chamber is now more or less paperless," Mr Gbajabiamila said following the installation of the new digital gadgets in the green chamber in 2020.
He added: "The whole system is based on the fact that we will soon now be having e-voting in this chamber. Now, this will not be applicable to all motions and bills, because we have several of them. For those we consider to be important and of significance, we will be adopting the e-voting system."
Well, Mr Gbajabiamila's e-parliament gadget was never in use, as lawmakers still depend on the "papers" for running activities of the parliament. Also, the House did not vote on any issue using the electronic gadget, except for the constitutional bills, which are mandatory. Therefore, Nigerians have no record of how their lawmakers voted on most issues, and despite the available e-parliament, the "ayes" and "nays" voting system subsists.
Ali Ahmad, a former Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly and member of the 7th House of Representatives told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview that it is "unpardonable" that after 24 years of democracy, the National Assembly still does not have records of voting on issues.
"It is not pardonable that since 1999, we do not have e-parliament in place to know how every legislator has voted or is voting. It is not good for research purposes, it is not good for the development of our democracy. It is not good for representation. How would the people that sent you to Abuja know how you voted?" Mr Ahmad said.
Mr Abbas on the other hand did not make any promise regarding e-parliament. So far, there is no sign that he and the House are interested in e-voting. But it may be too early to judge the 10th House because they are currently in a makeshift chamber due to the ongoing renovation of the chambers of the National Assembly.
The two chambers are expected to be equipped with a digital system that will aid e-voting. However, the obstacle to e-voting seems not to be technology but a lack of political will. This is because the adoption of e-voting on all bills may expose the lawmakers to issues around the quorum. The quorum of the National Assembly is one-third of all members which is 120 members for the House of Representatives. However, if voting is done on legislation, Nigerians will realise that most of their representatives are absent when vital issues are being deliberated.
Mr Ahmad said the fear on the issue of quorum should not stop the lawmakers from adopting e-voting because "members are aware of the order paper. Every day the order paper is sent to members. You scan and look at it, and if you have an issue that is of important value to your constituency, you will be there. If you are not there, you are on your own."
While Nigerians await the development of e-voting, many would make do with a functioning website that has details of activities of the National Assembly and other resources like votes and proceedings, order papers, bills, and motions. As of now, Nigerians depend on third parties for details of the activities of the National Assembly.
Gender Bills
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Last year, five gender-related bills were rejected by each chamber of the National Assembly during the constitutional amendment exercise. Despite the protests by women's groups, the bills died without any significant effort to revive them.
But there appears to be some room for optimism because President Tinubu, in his Renewed Hope manifesto, promised to work with the National Assembly on affirmative action bills. Perhaps the involvement of the president may help with the passage of the bill.
QueenEsther Iroanusi, the political and development adviser at the Norwegian Embassy in Abuja, said the gender bills may scale through if the president invests sufficient political capital.
"I am a bit hopeful. One, the First Lady is a former senator. Hence, he could leverage some political network within the National Assembly to convince some of her old colleagues.
"Secondly, the current Assembly has a cordial relationship with the Executive, therefore, we can only hope that they will use the influence of the good of these bills," Ms Iroanusi said.
Feminist Lab, a coalition of gender advocates, also called on the 10th House to pass bills on gender.
Andrea Kwen of Feminist Lab, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES, said bills must not enshrine nepotism.
"We anticipate a more proactive approach to reforming the entry points for women into public leadership roles. This should extend beyond individuals loyal to the government. Rather, it should prioritise qualified women who are genuinely committed to improving the lives of everyday Nigerian women. A critical avenue for achieving this goal is for the 10th Assembly to give strong consideration and affirmative support to the passage of popular gender bills," she said.
Amendment of the 2022 Electoral Act and Restructuring
The 2022 Electoral Act has been praised for some of the improvements in the electoral process, particularly the use of technology. However, post-election litigations have raised a number of issues that may require the National Assembly to amend the Act using the lessons and gains of the 2023 general election.
Also, the last administration made some progress in the devolution of power to the states. The last alteration moved some items from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent list which means that both the federal and state governments can act on such matters. Electricity, trains and prisons were moved to the concurrent list. Meanwhile, proponents of restructuring/fiscal federalism may see this moment as an ideal time to push for more devolution of power because of the history of the current president on restructuring. Mr Tinubu when he was Lagos governor, was a major proponent of restructuring.
To achieve further devolution, the National Assembly must be at the forefront because it requires a constitutional amendment, an endeavour that must start from the two chambers.
The 10th House and Mr Abbas have four years to achieve all these. However, millions of Nigerians are looking to Mr Abbas and his colleagues to hit the ground running when they come back from their long holiday.
