2023: N’Assembly in Retrospect

The first half of 2023 was the concluding part of the Ninth National Assembly while the second half marked the beginning of the four-year tenure of the 10th Assembly. Sunday Aborisade in this report, chronicles the major developments that characterised the year in the two legislative chambers.

The National Assembly resumed legislative activities on January 17, 2023 after a three-week break to observe the Christmas and New Year holidays. Members had just six months to end their four years tenure.

Nigerians did not expect much from the federal lawmakers who secured their political parties’ tickets to contest the 2023 National Assembly elections because they would definitely spend more time in their constituencies to round off their campaigns towards the poll slated for February.

Lawmakers who were not returning, initiated bills that they knew would not probably see the light of day. They used such legislative exercises to keep themselves busy while their colleagues were on the field, selling their ambition to their constituents.

The Senate and the House of Representatives had in the previous year, perfected the fifth alteration to the 1999 Constitution. They had also approved a report that proposed 68 amendments to the Constitution and voted on them electronically.

Some of the proposed amendments voted upon include abrogating state and local governments’ joint accounts, financial autonomy for state assemblies and judiciary, legislative summons, life pension for the presiding officers of the National Assembly, virtual court proceedings, Diaspora voting and extra seats for women in the parliament.

Others were the independent candidacy, mayor for Abuja, power of the parliament to summon the president and governor, immunity for the presiding officers of the legislature, timeframe for appointing ministers and commissioners, and expanding the scope of citizenship by registration.

The amendments also included separating the office of the Attorney General from the Minister of Justice and moving Value Added Tax to the exclusive legislative list.

The states threatened to take no action on the bills unless four more constitutional amendment bills were considered and passed by the National Assembly.

The bills are – the one to establish state police, establish states’ judicial council, streamline the procedure for removing presiding officers of state houses of assembly and to institutionalise legislative bureaucracy in the Constitution.

The Ninth National Assembly before end of its tenure, approved the N23.7 trillion already spent by the Federal Government.

Then President Muhammadu Buhari said the money was borrowed from the Central Bank of Nigeria over a period of 10 years and asked that the lawmakers approve a repayment plan.

Another major event that shaped the 9th Assembly was the revelations by some lawmakers during their valedictory sessions at both chambers.

The Ninth Senate held its valedictory session on June 10, 2023, One of them, Senator Orji Kalu, shed tears and  lamented that Nigeria was not fair to him, because he was arrested and sent to jail despite his contributions to Nigeria and democracy.

Another shocker was the revelation by Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa, (Bauchi North),  who said that through his wife, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, a former President of the Court of Appeal, he influenced court judgements in favour of some of his colleagues.

He was immediately interrupted by the then Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, knowing the implications of further revelations from him.

On his part, Senator Rochas Okorocha, (Imo West), threw a bombshell at Senator Ahmad Lawan asking him to explain how he manipulated his return to the upper legislative chamber, describing it as a mystery.

He said Lawan should teach him how he returned to the senate after losing the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Lawan and Okorocha contested the primary election of the APC but lost to President Bola Tinubu.

His participation in the primary meant that Lawan would not be able to contest the Yobe North senatorial ticket of the APC.  Bashir Machina was elected as the candidate for the senatorial zone at the time.

Lawan, however, said his constituents facilitated his return.

The official dissolution of the Ninth National Assembly paved the way for the race for the position of the presiding officers of both chambers of the 10th Assembly.

In the Red Chamber, heavy weights like  Senators Godswill Akpabio; Jibrin Barau; Abdulazeez Yari; Ali Ndume; Orji Uzor Kalu; Sani Musa; and Osita Izunaso, were all in the race for the office of the third citizen who will also be the chairman of the National Assembly, the legislative arm of government.

Members of the House of Representatives from the six geopolitical zones also threw their hats into the ring to contest the Speakership position.

These lawmakers included South West: Olajide Akinremi (Oyo), South East: Benjamin Kalu (Abia), and Miriam Onuoha (Imo).

Others were North Central: Ahmed Idris Wase; then Deputy Speaker (Plateau), Yusuf Gagdi (Plateau) and Abdulraheem Olawuyi (Kwara). North East: Muktar Aliyu Betara (Borno). North West: Makki Yalleman (Jigawa), Sada Soli (Katsina), Alhassan Ado Doguwa (Kano) Aminu Jaji (Zamfara) and Tajudeen Abass (Kaduna).

There was however, a major twist to the game when the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), on May 8, 2023, eventually announced its power-sharing arrangement and choice of candidates ahead of the inauguration of the Tenth National Assembly and election of its presiding officers.

In a release by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), it announced the duo of Senator Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) and Hon. Tajudeen Abass (Kaduna) as its preference for the seat of the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives in the Tenth National Assembly.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation in the Ninth Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau and the Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Kalu, were adopted as the choice for the seats of the Deputy President of the Senate and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives respectfully.

After series of alignment and realignment of forces, four aspirants made up their minds to contest the  senate president seat.

They were all ranking lawmakers and members of the ruling APC. They are Godswill Akpabio, a former minority leader of the senate, minister and former governor of Akwa Ibom; Abdulaziz Yari, a former member of the House of Representatives and former governor of Zamfara State; Orji Kalu, former chief whip of the ninth senate, former member of Third Republic House of Representatives and former governor of Abia State; and a former member of the House of Representatives and senator-elect for Imo West, Osita Izubaso.

Kano North senator-elect and former Senate Appropriation Committee chairman, Barau Jibrin, and the senator-elect for Niger East, Sani Musa were candidates for the seat of deputy senate president.

Messrs Kalu and Izunaso, however, stepped down for Akpabio while Musa quit the race to back Jibrin.

In the House, the candidates were Idris Wase, deputy speaker of the ninth House from Plateau State; a former chairman of Land Transport Committee of the House, Tajudeen Abbas from Kaduna State; former Appropriation Committee chair, Muktar Betara from Borno State and former chairman of committee on Navy, Yusuf Gagdi, also from Plateau State.

Also in the race were former chairman of the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Aminu Jaji from Zamfara State; ex-Water Resource Committee Chairman, Sada Soli from Katsina State, and Miriam Onuoha, the only female aspirant, from Imo State.

Former House Leader,  Alhassan Doguwa, Makki Yalleman and Abdulraheem Olawuyi, who are all APC lawmakers, had since dropped out of the race to back Abbas, Ditto Messrs Betara and Gagdi.

However, Kalu, the APC anointed candidate, remained in the race on the day of inauguration.

The time of inauguration on June 13, was changed from 10 am and the election started before 9 a.m.

After the Clerk of the National Assembly called for nominations, the senator-elect for Borno South, Ali Ndume, nominated Godswill Akpabio, as President of the Senate.

Akpabio accepted the nomination; while Elisha Abbo, then senator-elect for Adamawa North, nominated Abdulaziz Yari, senator-elect for Zamfara West.

After the open secret election, Sani Tambuwal, the Clerk of the National Assembly, declared Akpabio as the Senate President having garnered 63 votes leaving his rival with 46 votes.

In the Green Chamber, the APC anointed candidate, Tajudeen Abbas, was  elected the new Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives. He polled 353 votes to emerge the winner of the speakership election.

The other contestants, former Deputy Speaker Idris Wase and Sani Jaji, polled three votes each.

At the inaugural sitting, the red chamber amended its rules to adjust sitting days from two to three days in a week. It also barred a first time Senator from contesting the presiding officers position.

The 10th National Assembly in 2023 was able to avert an industrial action by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress following the sudden removal of the fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu.

The nation’s apex legislative institution also prevented a 40 per cent increment in the electricity tariff. Apart from this, the 10th Assembly through the Senate in 2023 apart from screening and confirming the appointment of ministerial and other board nominees of President Bola Tinubu also dropped some of them with controversial credentials.

The two chambers have also been able to work together harmoniously to pass both money bills and money legislations including the 2023 supplementary appropriation bill.

Just two days ago on Saturday, the federal parliament passed the 2024 appropriation bill to maintain the January to December budget cycle initiated by the 9th National Assembly.