The National Assembly has rarely rejected or disapproved of President Tinubu's requests. Some of the approvals were done without thorough deliberations.
One year into the administration of President Bola Tinubu, the optimism that trailed the outcome of the February 2023 National Assembly election results has waned as the anticipation of vibrancy from a diverse parliament has been dashed.
The opposition lawmakers, according to many observers, including opposition politicians, have refused to play the roles expected of them such as serving as a watchdog and critic of the ruling government, defending their party's interest and espousing what their party would have done differently if it were the government in power. Paul Ibe, an opposition politician and spokesperson of the runner-up in last year's presidential election described the current parliament, including opposition lawmakers, as a "lapdog" of the executive.
This is happening despite the 2023 general election producing some of the biggest upsets in recent elections in Nigeria, particularly at the National Assembly, where the Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) won enough seats to prevent a bi-party dominance by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
For instance, the LP had 34 seats in the House of Representatives and eight in the Senate. The NNPP had 18 seats in the House and two in the upper chamber. Other smaller parties won some seats as well.
Although other opposition parties won a few seats in both chambers, the strength of the LP and NNPP was so significant that many analysts predicted an upset during the race for parliament's leadership. However, that never happened as opposition lawmakers ended up queuing behind the ruling party candidates.
Most of the LP lawmakers rode on the popularity of the party's presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and the "Obidient Movement" to victory in the 25 February 2023 poll. The anti-establishment voting pattern created a bandwagon effect that produced many LP lawmakers, particularly in the South-east, Lagos and some parts of the South-south and North-central.
The "Obidient Movement", driven largely by young people dissatisfied with the old order, was created with Mr Obi as its symbol.
Many who did the "top to bottom" voting pattern did so with the expectation that the emergence of legislators not beholden to godfathers or moneybags would strengthen the legislature and make it robust.
They were wrong.
Similarly, in Kano State, most NNPP lawmakers benefitted from the popularity of the party's presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwasos. In Kano alone, NNPP won 18 House of Representatives seats and two senatorial seats.
"The level of opposition is not satisfactory. However, they are new and still trying to learn the ropes of the legislature," Tanko Yinusa, one of Mr Obi's spokespersons at the last presidential election, told PREMIUM TIMES.
Tinubu's carrot strategy
President Bola Tinubu, a former senator in the aborted Third Republic, was overt in his plan to control the National Assembly.
Unlike his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, who during his first term in 2015 did not show interest in who became the presiding officer of the two chambers, Mr Tinubu was actively involved in picking the leaders of the two chambers. He openly endorsed candidates ahead of the inauguration of the 10th session of the National Assembly on 13 June 2023.
Mr Tinubu used the carrot approach by holding meetings with not just members of his party but also the opposition lawmakers. In the end, Godswill Akpabio and Abbas Tajudeen had smooth sailing during the election of the presiding officers. Similarly, Barau Jibrin and Ben Kalu emerged as deputy senate president and deputy speaker respectively.
Messrs Akpabio and Tajudeen's emergence was seen by the supporters of the president as a major win that prevented the repeat of the upset recorded in the 8th Assembly, where Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara defied the directives of the party to emerge as the senate president and speaker of the House respectively.Aside from the presiding officers, Mr Tinubu equally got close allies to fill principal offices in the two chambers. In the upper chamber, Opeyemi Bamidele, who served in his administration as commissioner in Lagos, emerged as the majority leader. Julius Ihonvbere emerged as the majority leader in the lower chamber.
To solidify the control of the two chambers, one of the first Money Bills the president sent to the National Assembly contained a whopping N70 billion stabilisation fund for the National Assembly to allow members to settle into their new roles. It is believed that the lawmakers from the funds bought for themselves the controversial luxury sport utility vehicles estimated at N160 million per unit.
Amid the outrage, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, cautioned LP lawmakers to reject the vehicles, stating that the plan was insensitive. However, the lawmakers ignored Mr Abure's counsel and all accepted the cars.
"The National Assembly should pray for the president and give him 'three gbosa' for his magnanimity to the lawmakers," Stainless Nwodo, an LP lawmaker, was quoted as saying during the controversy over the purchase of the vehicle. Mr Nwodo was later sacked by the Court of Appeal in an election petition case.
Another Labour lawmaker, Ngozie Okolie, who represents Aniocha North/South Federal Constituency of Delta State in the House, equally defended the purchase of the vehicles, stating that "The SUVs are meant to aid our jobs as lawmakers, particularly as it relates to our oversight functions. Yes, he (Abure) can say that the economy is struggling but having one official vehicle as federal lawmakers isn't frivolous. It is a necessity."
Despite the outrage over the N70 billion and the purchase of vehicles, the president proceeded to give the National Assembly a N197 billion allocation in the 2024 Appropriation Bill, the highest ever in the history of the federal legislature. Even so, the National Assembly increased the allocation to N344 billion and the president signed off without complaint.
Several reports have also confirmed the padding of the 2024 budget with billions of naira worth of projects by the lawmakers.
Abdul Ningi, the Bauchi Central senator who alleged in an interview with BBC that the leadership of the National Assembly padded the 2024 budget, was suspended by the Senate for three months. He was recalled recently after serving two months of the punishment. Instructively, however, many of his colleagues including members of his party, the PDP, did nothing to save him when he was suspended.
Agom Jarigbe, a PDP lawmaker from Cross River State, was the only one who said something suggesting support for Mr Ningi during the debate over the saga. Mr Jarigbe alleged that most ranking lawmakers got above N500 million for constituency projects.
On the same day that Mr Ningi was suspended, President Tinubu held a closed-door meeting with Mr Akpabio and his deputy, Barau Jibrin, at the State House. It was not clear whether the Bauchi senator was discussed at that parley.
Wike, Gbajabiamila and the opposition
The ruling APC also held significant influence over the emergence of the leadership of the opposition caucus in the two chambers.
In the Senate, the PDP, in July 2023, wrote a letter to the Senate President, accusing the ruling party of interfering in the selection of the leadership of the Senate minority caucus.
In the House, Kingsley Chinda, a close ally of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and one of the promoters of Mr Tajudeen for the speakership emerged as the minority leader to the chagrin of the National Working Committee of the PDP.
Mr Wike, officially a PDP member, had been a major factor in the move by President Tinubu to have a firm grip on the parliament. Before he was appointed a minister, he played a major role in the election of the leadership of the National Assembly through his trusted political associates who delivered Messrs Akpabio and Tajudeen.
Interestingly, unlike the usual pattern of defection, Mr Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers State, has refused to leave the PDP, despite serving as a minister in the APC government of Mr Tinubu. Perhaps, it was to reward the minister that Mr Chinda, his ally, was appointed minority leader in the House.
Also, Mr Wike reportedly backed Simon Mwadkwon from Plateau State to emerge as the minority leader of the Senate. Mr Mwadkwom has since been sacked from the Senate by the Court of Appeal.
Following Mr Mwadkwon's exit, Senate President Akpabio took advantage of the division in the minority caucus to announce Abba Moro and Osita Ngwu as Senate minority leader and whip respectively. The LP caucus in the Senate had protested the appointment because Mr Ngwu replaced the sacked Darlington Nwokocha.
In the two chambers, the ruling party has consistently influenced the composition of the leadership of the minority caucus, hence the chambers have not experienced any serious opposition.
There is also the overbearing influence of President Tinubu's Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila. Mr Gbajabiamila, the immediate past speaker of the House, is believed to have played a major role in the emergence of Mr Tajudeen and Ben Kalu as the speaker and deputy speaker.
Through the Joint Task team, a multiparty coalition headed by Mr Chinda and Bello Kumo, both allies of Mr Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff was able to provide a multiparty coalition that promoted the Abba/Kalu ticket.
Also, the amendment to the standing rule helped as the open ballot meant that several lawmakers were forced to join the queue.
One other major role Mr Gbajabiamila played was to plant the seed of loyalty to the government in power. During one of the meetings in April 2023, Mr Gbajabiamila informed lawmakers present, many of them first-timers, that voting for a speaker who is against the president is not in their best interest. He cited the 2011 rebellion that produced Aminu Tambuwal as a speaker.
Since he emerged as speaker, Mr Tajudeen has held the chief of staff in high regard. Last year, he held a "world" press conference to defend Mr Gbajabiamila amid a media campaign.
The rubber stamp tag
The current National Assembly has been described by some observers as a "rubber stamp" legislature, perhaps worse than the last assembly, which also carried the same stamp.
Since its inauguration a year ago, except on very few occasions, the federal parliament has rarely rejected or disapproved of President Tinubu's requests. Several requests of the president were hurriedly approved without thorough deliberation.
A few examples suffice. The National Assembly passed the 2024 budget 32 days after it was presented to it by the president.
In October 2023, the president nominated 10 persons as commissioners of INEC. PREMIUM TIMES reported that some of the nominees were card-carrying members of the ruling party or known associates of the president's appointees. Despite the outcry and protests by some Nigerians and civil society organisations, the Senate confirmed the nominees.
President Tinubu, on 13 March, sent the 2024 budget of the FCT to the National Assembly for approval. The N1.2 trillion budget was approved by the two chambers of the National Assembly within three legislative days. No budget of any subnational government was that huge except Lagos.
The bill was presented on Wednesday, and the general principle of the bill was debated in the two chambers the following day. The following Monday, the Committees on FCT held separate hearings on the proposal and by Tuesday, the money bill was passed.
This pattern of quick passage has characterised requests by the president to the National Assembly. Often, the lawmakers ignore outcry over requests by the executive.
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Perhaps the most brazen was the passage of the National Anthem Bill last month. Both chambers passed the bill reverting to the old national anthem without sufficient consultations with the people they represent. President Tinubu signed the bill immediately.
With the control of the leadership of the National Assembly and the opposition members, President Tinubu has had a relatively easy way with the lawmakers.
His only challenge is the incessant summoning of his appointees by the lawmakers. During a meeting with the lawmakers in April, President Tinubu raised this issue with the lawmakers. However, they have not ceded ground on that as the summoning has yet to abate.
NASS, a lapdog
Paul Ibe, spokesperson to Atiku Abubakar, described the current Assembly as a lapdog of the executive.
"If the 9th National Assembly is considered to be a rubber stamp, as Nigerians have concluded, this particular National Assembly is a lapdog, worse than a rubber stamp.
"The National Assembly has failed from the word 'go'. They voted to buy N160 million SUVs at a time when inflation is about 33 per cent and food inflation is about 40 per cent. They handed themselves SUVs when we were talking about cutting down the cost of governance," he told PREMIUM TIMES.
Citing the example of the controversial National Anthem Bill, Mr Ibe said the legislature is giving the executive a perfect distraction.
"The issue of the National Anthem was meant to be a distraction, a needless distraction from the ongoing conversations about the performance of this administration in the last year. They want us to be talking about the national anthem and not the performance of the administration. The discourse is for the government to be accountable, but they have succeeded in distracting us," he said.
But a member of the House, Clement Jimbo (APC, Cross River), rejected the "rubber stamp" tag on the 10th Assembly, arguing that the role of the National Assembly is beyond open disagreement and confrontation.
"We have on many occasions challenged the executive. To my understanding, the relationship between the legislature and the executive must not necessarily be about abusing and openly disagreeing on the pages of newspapers and news outlets.
"For example, when the president contemplated taking action on the Niger Republic, the House intervened and said 'no'. We have numerous problems here; let us face our own. The president got the message clearly, and that did not happen.
"When the executive brought the supplementary budget that contained about N500 billion to cushion the effect of subsidy removal, it was a welcome request, and we took action immediately because of the intent.
"We have always been on the people's side. I see our relationship as that of a husband and wife. Thus, they must not always disagree in front of people. We can maturely handle the differences," Mr Jimbo said in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES.
