The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila... before the joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday. Photo: @buharisallau
 
ON its way out, like the Executive Branch, the Ninth National Assembly under the leadership of Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has come under public scrutiny over its performance. Overwhelmingly, the verdict is damning: the parliament accomplished very little and became almost an extension of the Presidency.

While the leadership insists that its four-year tenure ending May 29 conflates with a record number of laws passed, its slavish approval of loan requests from the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), lack of rigour in screening nominees, incompetent oversight over public agencies, and the enabling of official profligacy amidst mass poverty in the land are implacable witnesses to its abysmal outing.

The most enduring characteristic of the Ninth NASS, to the dismay of Nigerians, was its abject acquiescence to Buhari, appearing to forget that it is an independent arm of government with an outsized role in exerting the sovereignty and overall interest of the people as the bedrock of democracy.

This justifiably earned it the odious moniker of “rubber stamp.” Cementing this reputation, the parliament is considering another World Bank loan request of $800 million from Buhari less than one month to its exit date.

Considered the cornerstone of democracy as the direct representatives of the people, strong parliaments, declares the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the global association of parliaments, are essential for development. Their primary functions are to represent the people, make laws and oversee the government through hearings and inquiries.

In a presidential system of government like Nigeria’s, where the president wields enormous powers, the independence, rigour, and commitment of the legislature to ensure that democracy in practice, delivers a “government by the people and for the people” is of utmost importance.

The Ninth NASS fell short of this onerous responsibility. There were some upright, service-oriented individuals in the two chambers, but they were a minority. Lawan and Gbajabiamila however adjudge the NASS to have performed very creditably.

The Senate President boasts of the bills passed. On paper, this looks impressive. Of the 874 bills introduced in the Senate, 162 were passed as of July 2022. This is a record in the Fourth Republic: the Fourth Assembly passed 31 bills, the Fifth Assembly 98, the Sixth Assembly 52, the Seventh Assembly 60, and the Eighth Assembly 74.

Apart from the annual appropriation and supplementary bills, the NASS achieved the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract (Amendment) Act, 2019, the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, and Finance Act, 2020. The PIA, though watered down, had gathered dust in the previous assemblies. The Finance Act increased VAT from 5.0 per cent to 7.5 per cent but reduced tax for certain categories of companies.

In its first two sessions to June 2021, the Senate passed 59 of the 742 bills introduced to the chamber; 11 of them were referred for concurrence by the House. By that stage, 355 of the bills had passed first reading and 175 through second reading.

But when juxtaposed against quality, and the urgent interventions it ignored, the quantity of the NASS output pales into debit mode. Many new laws established additional cost centres, bureaucracies and expenditures with no visible funding sources. The Ninth NASS continued the fiscally irrational template of mandating spending with no consideration for where the money would come from.

Thus, it engaged in a frantic race to establish new universities, polytechnics/monotechnics, colleges of education, military and paramilitary universities, commissions, and multiple agencies, some doing virtually the same thing.

It failed to repeal the anomalous Nigerian Railway Act 1955 that has denied the country of private investment and kept the rail sector an expensive sole federal responsibility; it ignored calls to legislate compulsory privatisation of the moribund, loss-making state-owned refineries whose failures cost the treasury trillions in subsidising petrol imports, and it failed to fully incorporate reforms recommended by the Uwais panel into the Electoral Act amendments to cleanse the country’s sordid elections.

Besides, oversight has been very poor, with MDAs carrying on with dodgy budgets and expenditures and poor service delivery unchecked by the parliament beyond headline-grabbing summons that led to nowhere.

Lawan has tried vainly to burnish his slavish kowtowing to Buhari as progressive, attributing the “success” achieved to the “friendly but professional approach to Executive-Legislative relations focused on harmonious working relationship based on mutual respect, consultation, cooperation, collaboration and partnership.” This demonstrates a poor understanding of the responsibility of the legislature by the top lawmaker. Cooperation is not subjugation [quote]of the legislature to the executive.

The NASS did not apply the rigorous efforts that distinguish independent parliaments; in-depth intellectual debates, agenda-setting and incisive scrutiny of government activities.

Screening of ministers and other nominees by the Senate were mockeries of parliamentary supervision. The Ninth Senate toed the repugnant path of ‘bow and go.’ This enabled Buhari to elevate many incompetent persons into public office.

Despite credible allegations of partisanship, Lawan ensured that Buhari’s nominees as Independent National Electoral Commission commissioners were confirmed. This further eroded confidence in the electoral system. One such appointee attempted to manipulate the Adamawa State governorship polls in April.

Instead of authoring laws on restructuring, state police, and railways, frivolously, the NASS enmeshed itself in ridiculous bills to regulate the practice of Christianity, and to withhold the certificates of medical graduates for five years. In the constitution amendments, the parliament was underwhelming, and inserted several retrogressive provisions in the package.

Gbajabiamila’s main goal in office was to provide smooth sailing for Buhari and ensure the latter did not stand in the way of the Speaker’s political mentor’s burning a bridge.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/punchng.com/ninth-nass-an-indolent-weak-rubber-stamp/%3famp

Meanwhile,
9th NASS has achieved so much, Buhari doesn’t interfere – Lawan

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has given pass mark to the 9th National Assembly under his leadership and support from President Muhammadu Buhari.

Lawan who stated this in Damaturu , Yobe State on Monday during Banquet Dinner held for President Buhari said much has been achieved by the 9th National Assembly within the last three and half years in terms of quality legislations for good governance and responsive representation.

“National Assembly during the period under review,  had passed many difficult and complicated legislations because President Buhari gave them all the support they needed to do their work,” he said.

The achievements he added, were made possible by combination of factors, one of which is the non – interference of President Buhari  in the legislative activities of the National Assembly.

He said: “I have never worked with any President who never asked that he wanted things done a certain way but I want to admit here that Mr President, you have never asked me to do anything. You believe we should do what is best for our country.

“And when I said that we will continue to work with the executive arm of government, ensuring that the national interest is always our guide and focus, our opposition took me out of context.

“Some of them started writing that we are rubber stamp, that whatever is brought to National Assembly will be approved. I want to say here, that President Muhammadu Buhari never asked anything that is not in the national interest.

“And at the risk of being misquoted by the press, we all know who our President is. Before he became President and while he is still President. Nigeria, Nigeria, Nigeria is his focus, his concern. And that is why we believe that we should continue to work with him.We should support him.

“Today, Mr President, I am proud to say that we have achieved so much working with you in the ninth National Assembly. “We have passed the most difficult Bills, we have passed the most complicated legislations. This is because you gave us all the support that we needed to do our work in the National Assembly.”

He thanked the President for making Yobe State to witness so much development during his tenure. He also urged the President to consider establishment of Gum Arabic Research Institute in Yobe and deploy resources to develop Livestock Industry before his exit from power in May.

“Mr President, we have seen so much development in Yobe State during your tenure. Infact, Yobe never had it so good and we are very grateful. “We have gotten appointments. You can see the high calibre Inspector General of Police and this IG of Police portrays what Yobe can do. Mr President, we still have some of our best still on the line waiting. 

“Mr President, Yobe State, like Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, is on this Gum Arabic Zone. Gum Arabic is a cash crop that gave support to our people before. It is no more giving that support.

“Mr President, if there is one way that we can diversify our economy, Gum Arabic should be given a special position in our to Arabic industry, we are going to earn foreign exchange for Nigeria.

“We spent billions of Naira, hundreds of millions of dollars to import Gum Arabic from other countries. We can do a lot more if we can get the support of Federal Government.

“Your Excellency, we already have a sub-station in Kajuwa, part of Yobe State. That sub-station is rather a research institute sub-station. That research institute is based in Benin, Edo state.

“Mr President, my belief is that Gum Arabic has that important economic value that deserves it’s separate research institute because it can transform our country.

“So on behalf of all our people and on behalf of other states, Mr President, I want to urge that before you leave on 29th of May, 2023, let us see how we can make the sub-station in Kajuwa to be the headquarters of the new Gum Arabic Research Institute.

“The second issue is the issue of livestock development. Mr President, when you said you will support the livestock industry, some people said it’s private business. They shouldn’t be supported.

“There is nothing more private than someone setting up a Bank, kill the Bank and then the obnoxious loans will now be taking over by AMCON. AMCON today has about six trillion naira of toxic loans on our head.

“Mr President, the livestock industry in Nigeria especially between Borno, Sokoto and of course Yobe is an economy that is worth 33 trillion Naira.

“Incidentally, the most poor states are in this zone. Where you have a potential of 33 trillion Naira economy, we have no reason to be poor. Mr President, I want to urge you that before you leave, let’s deploy some resources to develop the livestock industry,” he added.

https://www.blueprint.ng/9th-nass-has-achieved-so-much-buhari-doesnt-interfere-lawan/

A peaceful Senate is better than a rebellious Nsogbu Nsogbu assembly

Goodluck Jonathan proposed repair and resurfacing of Lagos Ibadan express way... Babalakin stole the money

Fashola went to Senate for Budget to fund the same Lagos Ibadan express way, Saraki and his boys padded budget with borehole and stupid projects


Same Lagos Ibadan express way killed many Nigerians because some idiots won't approve the Budget

Nigeria benefits from synergy of Executive and Legislative arms... Only fools and enemies of progress want tussle

.

The most useless rubberstamp NASS

The 19 Resident Electoral Commissioners that these idiots approved their appointments few months to the election were all APC members with some of them having the poster of their campaign for a political position under APC flying around then. But what did they do? They went ahead and told them to bow and go even though it was clearly unconstitutional.

They approved loan request of Buhari which has brought us to our knees right now.

The only people that would be impressed by Lawan and Gbajabiamila led 9th NASS are Tinubu Owambe boys.

Saraki remains the best Senate President so far.

We need the days of Bukola Saraki in NASS.

A zombie NASS is the major reason the executive always want to handpick the principal officers. And such always end up becoming a disastrous NASS like that of Ahmed Lawal.

When Buhari says something is good, he actually means it is bad

Useless

9th Senate: not just an Indolent Weak Rubberstamp but docile and useless

Eeyaah

That's why he wrote from Niger saying that it was nice working with them. ...... 9th people..

Loan ✅
Travel allowance ✅
Vacation ✅
Sharing formula ✅
Approval ✅
Logistics ✅
Appointment ✅

A failure is a failure QED

The writer of this editorial piece is a hater of Nigeria


Lawmaking as not same as activism and you hardly hear crazy news of confrontation between the Executives and the legislators in advance countries.

I give kudos to the current leadership of this assembly

Mr Gbajabi, said he'll see to the passage of bill criminalizing estimated billing before being leadership of the house, four years went by and he didn't even made mention of that. Our leaders are just made up of empty promises.

That is your own headache.

Give us Akpabio.

OP, I don't see why you had to waste so much space quoting in full all of the content-free hot air from Lawan. All this did was take away from the full impact of the first part of your post. Meanwhile, the following passage from that part is of far greater interest than any nonsense Lawan had to say.

It failed to repeal the anomalous Nigerian Railway Act 1955 that has denied the country of private investment and kept the rail sector an expensive sole federal responsibility; it ignored calls to legislate compulsory privatisation of the moribund, loss-making state-owned refineries whose failures cost the treasury trillions in subsidising petrol imports

These two measures would have gone a long way to getting rid of wasteful spending and prepping the economy for faster growth, but they are hardly ever even mentioned in what passes for political discourse in this sad excuse for a country.

Whoever read the novel should please summarize in two sentences

These men were all assembled by balablu!

Punch really came down hard on the men .. what a verdict

It should be called rubber stamp stump yeye

Okay

arkonpoint:
Mr Gbajabi, said he'll see to the passage of bill criminalizing estimated billing before being leadership of the house, four years went by and he didn't even made mention of that. Our leaders are just made up of empty promises.

What stops your constituency rep from sponsoring the If Gbajabiamila refused to do it ? Gbaja is just one out of 360 house members

The most useless Assembly since the existence of Nigeria. Thanks to Lawal and Gbajiabiamila – puppet duo – that doesn't know their responsibilities as house head.

Now, another bunch of clowns are hovering around to constitute the heads of 10th Assembly. Another disaster waiting just like the 9th Assembly.

The 9th Assembly should also take part of the blame of the failure of Buhari government because of their rules in approving every request made by Buhari without scrutiny.

Mtchew

The Punch is right. We don't want such a National Assembly again. We need legislature that is robust and will uphold the tenets of seperation of power and checks & balances.

Hmmm

The leadership of the 9th assembly led by Ahmad Lawal and Femi gbajabamiala will be remembered in history as the worst performers of all time,they failed in all indices required of modern day paliamentarian leaders,they where just an embodiment of sound and emptiness,they failed in there 'social contract',with the electorates,they where no different from the national clowns that where heading the executives. Nigeria became a big circus only good for comic relief.
May this affliction never occur the second time to this nation. Amen！

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