Ahead of the resumption of the National Assembly from Christmas and New Year break on Tuesday, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), have cautioned lawmakers against abandoning legislative business for political activities.
The caution is against the backdrop of 2026 being the penultimate year to the 2027 general election where political activities sometimes take preeminence over governance generally.
Going by the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, party primaries for the nomination of candidates for the 2027 election will be held between April and June this year while campaigns commence from September.
Also, many political parties will be holding their congresses and national conventions from February. For instance, the ruling All Progressive Congress(APC), has fixed its ward, local government and state congresses for February 18, 20 and March 7 respectively while zonal congress and national convention are slated for March 21 and 28 this year.
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There are strong indications that most lawmakers who will be seeking re-election into the National Assembly or contesting other elections or working for their parties' victory at the polls will be preoccupied with political activities.
However, the CSOs insisted that lawmakers must ensure they fulfill their obligations to Nigerians who gave them the mandate to principally make laws, oversight the executive and represent them.
The executive director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, in an interview with LEADERSHIP, said as party primaries approach, legislators must not abandon governance for politics.
According to him, legislative responsibility cannot be sacrificed on the altar of personal ambition as
Nigerians expect a National Assembly that remains focused, provides strong oversight and keeps the executive in check.
Itodo particularly called on the Senate to immediately pass the Electoral bill, harmonise positions with the House of Representatives, and transmit it to the President for assent within two weeks.
"Nigerians expectations are simple and urgent. First, the Senate must immediately pass the Electoral Bill, harmonise positions with the House of Representatives, and transmit it to the President for assent within two weeks. We are in a national election emergency that demands legal certainty and institutional clarity.
"Second, the National Assembly must prioritise the review and passage of the national budget. INEC urgently requires adequate and timely funding to prepare for the elections. Speed, however, must not replace scrutiny. Budget consideration must be fast, but it must also be thorough, transparent, and accountable.
"Finally, as party primaries approach, legislators must not abandon governance for politics. Legislative responsibility cannot be sacrificed on the altar of personal ambition. Nigerians expect a National Assembly that remains focused, provides strong oversight, and keeps the executive in check," he stated.
The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), insisted that the National Assembly must not become a casualty of the 2027 election cycle as Nigerians elected lawmakers to legislate and provide oversight--not to abandon governance for politics long before the official campaign period.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP, the executive director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa-Rafsanjani, said lawmakers must remain committed to plenary seatings, committee work and oversight responsibilities, as well as other pertinent functions and roles of the Assembly, rather than frequent absence and needless recess driven by political motives and personal ambitions.
"The Year 2026 is a critical year for not just the President Tinubu's administration but even more so for the 10th National Assembly. While citizens have largely excused some of the democratic and socio-economic challenges experienced through the times of the administration to teething problems of a new regime, 2026 and beyond would naturally mark the expected period of maturity for the policies and programmes of the administration to bear physical and visible fruits for Nigerians to see and benefit from. Highly integral to this success or failure is the performance of the National Assembly in 2026.
"Worryingly, 2026 is a preceding year to the 2027 General Election. Citizens have expressed fear that politicians as always would renege on governance and concentrate attention on electioneering and politicking. This fear would be heightened if the proposal by the National Assembly to hold the general elections in November 2026 becomes a reality.
"However, it is pertinent for the Assembly to recognise that as it resumes legislative duties for 2026, citizens have expectations that cannot be swept aside for politicking and electioneering. Especially in a period when Nigeria is grappling with economic hardship, insecurity, rising public debt, governance deficits, and declining public trust in institutions. These challenges demand a fully functional, responsive, and accountable legislature, not an absentee, distracted, robber stamp or compromised legislature.
"Hence, CISLAC calls on the National Assembly as it resumes to focus on what citizens are expecting the lawmakers to concentrate on. The Assembly must prioritise the fast-tracking of critical legislative reforms, including electoral, economic, security, and governance-related bills that directly affect citizens' welfare.
"With lessons learnt from the 2023 elections, the Assembly cannot pretend that it doesn't realize that electoral reforms is a pertinent desire of the citizenry of Nigeria. The National Assembly must prioritize these key reforms to deliver good governance to Nigerians.
"One of the key ingredients of good governance lacking in this administration is public accountability and transparency. While the executive has demonstrated an obvious disregard for due process in public procurement and public contracting in Nigeria.
"The legislature is expected to rise to the occasion by strengthening oversight of the executive, particularly in budget implementation, public procurement, and the use of public funds. Without this critical function, citizens' perception of the Assembly as a rubber stamp would stick," he added.
For his part, the executive director of Grassroots Center for Rights & Civic Orientation (GRACO), Armsfree Ajanaku maintained that lawmakers must find a scheduling balance between participating in the political process and ensuring activities in the National Assembly do not come to a halt.
He said Nigerian lawmakers must learn key lessons from other democracies which have found the balance between representation and political campaigns in an election year.
"It is a mark of the accountability deficit in our democracy that we have a situation in which lawmakers will be eager to campaign in a pre-election year, without a proper scorecard of what has been achieved.
"While GRACO cannot argue that lawmakers should ignore political activities, they must also understand that their lawmaking and oversight functions cannot be abandoned. They must therefore find a scheduling balance between participating in the political process and ensuring activities in the National Assembly do not come to a halt. Nigeria must learn key lessons from other democracy, which have found the balance between representation and political campaigns in an election year.
"Importantly, in the course of the campaigns, they should be compelled by the electorate to present their scorecards. For lawmakers who want to return, their constituencies should be able to assess what has been achieved. That is the way to deepen political accountability," Ajanaku stated.
In like manner, executive director, CREAP Africa Initiative, Sylvanus Udoenoh asked lawmakers to strike a clear balance between their political ambitions and their constitutional responsibilities.
He insisted that electioneering should not come at the expense of legislative productivity or citizens' representation as Nigerians will judge lawmakers not by the number of political rallies attended, but by the quality of laws passed, the strength of oversight exercised, and the sincerity with which they engage their constituents.
"Ahead of the resumption of the National Assembly on Tuesday, 27 January 2026, like every other Nigerian, we expect our lawmakers to demonstrate a renewed sense of responsibility, discipline, and fidelity to the mandate they were freely given by citizens, especially in a politically sensitive year such as this.
"History has shown that pre-election periods often distract legislators from their core duties of lawmaking, oversight, and representation, as political activities like party congresses, primaries, and campaigns begin to dominate attention. Already, frontline political parties, APC and ADC have scheduled membership registration and party congresses. Next, conventions and primaries, which could easily distract lawmakers and political office holders from their official assignments.
"However, Nigerians cannot afford a repeat of legislative fatigue at a time when economic hardship, insecurity, and governance deficits remain pressing issues. In 2026, citizens expect the National Assembly to prioritise people-centred legislation that addresses cost-of-living pressures, youth unemployment, social protection, electoral reforms, and security sector accountability.
"Beyond passing bills, Nigerians want to see robust and transparent oversight of MDAs, particularly around budget implementation, public debt management, social investment programmes, and the use of special intervention funds.
"Lawmakers must resist the temptation to turn oversight into mere press statements or inconclusive probes and instead ensure that findings translate into corrective actions and accountability. As 2026 unfolds, the National Assembly has an opportunity to rebuild public trust by proving that governance, not politics, remains its primary focus," Udoenoh added.
Meanwhile, work on the review of the 1999 Constitution, electoral reforms and 2026 budget are the front burner as the National Assembly resumes from Yuletide holidays.
The National Assembly, particularly the House had intensified efforts towards meeting the December 2025 deadline for constitution review process but that was not achieved eventually.
While the House held 12 zonal public hearings across all six geopolitical zones and national hearing in Abuja and met with other critical stakeholders it could not vote on the Constitution alteration bills as prospected.
A report by the House Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution (Altered), chaired by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu showed that out of a total of 260 constitution review bills which passed second reading, 44 had been prioritised as the first batch of amendments to be concluded in 2025.
The 44 prioritised bills are segmented into the key thematic areas including: local government autonomy, inclusive governance, electoral reform, judicial independence and efficiency, devolution of powers, fiscal reforms and security/sate policing.
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It is therefore expected that the last lap of the exercise which is voting would take place when the lawmakers resume.
On electoral reforms, while the House had passed a bill for an Act to amend the Electoral Act, 2022 to Regulate the Conduct of Federal,State and Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory Elections, the Senate had yet done its bit for harmonisation and transmission to the President for assent.
The House bill seeks to enhance transparency and credibility of elections as well as improve the electoral process generally.
The perceived delay in the Senate has sparked public outrage with fears that it is a plot sabotage the 2027 general election.
LEADERSHIP reports that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had alleged deliberate attempt to rig the 2027 election long before the ballots were cast following the delay by the Senate to finalise the amendment to the Electoral Act.
Atiku, in a personally signed statement, said a major setback to the 2023 elections is the loopholes in the Electoral Act 2022 that paved the way for the brazen rigging of that election, and the near-impossibility of petitioners to advance their cases in the courts.
He added, "It is imperative that if the mistakes of the 2023 election are to be corrected, the legal instrument for the conduct of the 2027 and subsequent future elections needs to be reviewed.
"But as things stand, it has become obvious that the Senate is determined to frustrate the passage of amendments to the 2022 Electoral Act."
Similarly, a civil society organisation known as CREAP Africa Initiative expressed concern over the continued delay by the Senate in concluding amendments to the Electoral Act 2022.
"The refusal or delay in amending the Electoral Act is not legislative caution--it is legislative sabotage.
The Senate must act, urgently and responsibly. The integrity of the 2027 elections, and Nigeria's democratic future, depend on it," he noted.
Furthermore, it is expected that the National Assembly will upon resumption begin work on the 2026 budget (Appropriation bill) before it.
President Bola Tinubu had laid before a joint session of National Assembly the N58.18 trillion budget for the 2026 financial year, less than a week before the lawmakers adjourned plenary for 2025.
The presiding officers of the National Assembly, particularly Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas assured President Tinubu that the legislature will consider the 2026 Appropriation bill with urgency, diligence and patriotism.
