Could The 10th National Assembly Be Our Worst? -By Emmanuel Aziken

After the calamity that was the 9th National Assembly that had Senator Ahmad Lawan and Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila as presiding officers of the two chambers, suggestions that the 10th Assembly could prove worse should be dreadful.

The 9th Assembly had at onset surrendered itself to the body movement of President Muhammadu Buhari when its senior officials pledged to pass everything that the executive should ever present. True to its pledge, that assembly went on in its cavalier capitulation of legislative scrutiny of the executive arm as Buhari’s ministers ran wild in their exploits.

It was under their scrutiny that billions of naira was expended on school feeding during the lockdown, a whole nation was scammed in the form of a new national airline, millions of invisible persons enrolled into a palliative programme, trillions of naira expended on an opaque petrol subsidy regime and so on.

So, after that, suggestions that the 10th Assembly would lower the levers of good governance below what it inherited should befuddle anyone.

Nothing much was known of Speaker Tajudeen Abbas before his emergence. As such, perceptions on the prospects of the 10th Assembly have been focused on Senator Godswill Akpabio, the man chosen by President Bola Tinubu as president of the Senate.

First, his emergence was shielded with controversy as some saw the direct role of Tinubu in appointing the presiding officers of the National Assembly as incongruous to the principle of separation of powers.

That argument is, however, not founded in precedence either in Nigeria or in the United States where the presidential system of government was formulated. A very recent case in the United States was the emergence of Kevin McCarthy as the speaker of the House of Representatives, the second in line in the order of succession. His emergence was on the wings of the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

It is instructive that even before he met or spoke to the incumbent, that is President Joe Biden, that minutes after he was elected speaker that McCarthy went on television to pledge loyalty to Trump.

However, the dividing line between the case in the United States and the case in Nigeria is that the emergence of McCarthy was driven ideological passion unlike the personality clout that shadows the selection of political office holders in Nigeria.

In the case of Akpabio, Tinubu was adjudged right in picking Akpabio over Senator Abdulazziz Yari on the principle of religious balance of power following the emergence of the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the APC.

However, critics ask, why Akpabio and not Senator Osita Izunaso who many saw as a fresher face. Your correspondent understands that the choice of Akpabio flows from the early political move by Akpabio at the APC presidential convention when he became the first to step down for Tinubu. That action energized the ‘spirit of stepping down’ that helped Tinubu to win the ticket at the first ballot and for which the former Akwa Ibom governor was given a fitting reward as Senate President.

Expectations of the 10th National Assembly
Akpabio at the beginning of his stewardship vowed to project the national interest above all others as chairman of the National Assembly.

Given the infrastructural landmark he left in Akwa Ibom that is signposted as uncommon transformation, suggestions that Akpabio will stimulate the National Assembly towards providing the legislative framework for a similar experience at the national level are indeed probable. Just as the 9th Assembly and its leadership is today buried in infamy over its lethargic assertions, the prospect of Akpabio leaving an uncommon legacy in the legislature will be really welcome.

However, some bad habits die hard and hence fears that the 10th National Assembly could be starting on the wrong note.

Two instances suffice. The 9th National Assembly further soiled its reputation over the purchase of cars with its preference for foreign brands over local ones. It has recently been reported that the 10th Assembly is also progressing in that path of error with the decision to earmark N40 billion for the purchase of vehicles for its principal officers. The reports indicate that the vehicles are coming from abroad.

It is uncommon reasoning for our legislators to feed foreign economies with that action of buying foreign brands of cars for themselves from the national treasury. It is very bad economics.

Even worse is the decision to earmark N70 billion out of the N800 billion Supplementary Budget for the National Assembly.

It is indefensible. At a time the government is telling Nigerians to tighten their belts, the lawmakers are expanding their belts to eat more!

The legislature is the fulcrum of democracy and the capacity of that arm to exert itself in the principles of good governance will surely go a long way in enhancing the public good.

After eight years of unsound deliveries from the Buhari government with the 9th National Assembly as an accomplice, the least Nigerians deserve is that the 10th should be proactive in rising above the mendacity that we saw in the last four years. Anything else is unacceptable.