Against the backdrop of recent and current realities, KUNLE ODEREMI writes on the challenge of separation of powers cum independence under the new leadership of the National Assembly.
WITH the emergence of the presiding officers of the National Assembly on June 13, there is pervasive baited breadth over what difference they could make in the scheme of things in the next four years.
While some stakeholders in the Nigerian project have expressed a degree of confidence in the new leadership in the Senate and the House of Representatives to herald a new dawn, others have chosen to be on the side of caution due to what they described as the trajectory of the National Assembly since Nigeria restored civil rule in 1999. But the common denominator among the stakeholders is that there is a deficit in service delivery by the lawmakers vis-a-vis the quantum of scarce resources the country has expended on the legislature against the background of the statutory functions of the legislature.
Shortly after one of the series of meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the immediate president of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, Lawan gave what looked like the scorecard of the last National Assembly in the last political dispensation. Lawan boasted that the National assembly under his tenure.
His submission: “We have worked together with distinguished senators of the 9th National Assembly and members of the House of Representatives to create a very conducive environment for us to work. We have been productive; much more productive than any National Assembly. We worked very closely with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and that helped the administration a lot.’’
It will be recalled that on December 14, 2021, Lawan had made spirited efforts to erase the notion that the National Assembly was a rubber stamp institution of the executive. He spoke at the Distinguished Parliamentarians Lecture held in Abuja. He said the three arms of government are independent but only work together for the success of government.
His words: “Nigeria has three arms of government that are constitutionally equal but the people are heavily represented at the legislature than the other arms… The legislature, being the first arm of government constitutionally, the closest and as well the most accessible by the people, easily lends itself to public scrutiny and sometimes takes the blame even for government decisions that fall outside its legislative competence. The three arms of government have a responsibility to each other and an obligation to Nigerians, thus they must have a cordial relationship based on mutual respect for constitutional rights and mandate to succeed.”
The 1999 Constitution (as Amended) vests the National Assembly with powers to legislate, perform oversight functions and appropriate. The status of both the Senate and the House is clearly stated in sections 4 (1) & (2). Subsection (1) states that “The legislative powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be vested in a National Assembly for the Federation which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives. Subsection (2) provides that, “The National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.”
Section 88 of the Constitution states that each House of the National assembly has the power to investigate (a) any matter in respect of which it has the power to make laws; and (b) the conduct of any parastatal or official responsible for administering any Act of the National Assembly or in charge of disbursing funds. The section then says that this power to investigate is only exercisable for the purpose of enabling it (i.e. the Senate or the Reps) to (a) make laws on any matter within its legislative competence and correct defects in existing laws; and (b) expose corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws.
In Section 89, the grund norm says, such power has to do investigate, procure evidence to be given on oath, summon anyone to give evidence or produce documents, and issue a warrant to compel the attendance of any such witness.bot most of the activities of the National Assembly are carried out through committees comprising lawmakers with the Special and Standing Committees as the main organs.
Tinubu on renewed hope
President Bola Tinubu was upbeat on the emergence of Senator Godswill Akpabio and Honourable Tajudeen Abbas as the president of the senate and the Speaker of the House on June 13. The president harped on the importance of a harmonious working relationship with the other arms of government but added that the challenges before the political leaders were awesome and that Nigerians looked up to the leaders to fix the system through collaboration. He said he was counting on the leadership of the 10th National Assembly and all members to work and walk with him on the governmental journey.
“In the course of our work together, disagreements may occur. When we disagree, it will not be out of malice, ill will and a quest to diminish the institution of the National Assembly or any individual member. Our people across the length and breadth of our country expect so much from us. They want us to lift their economic burden. They want us to eliminate insecurity so our farmers in rural communities can go to their farms and produce the food we eat.”
What should be the terms of such relationship in the context of separation of power and statutory functions? Will it be by sustaining the status quo, which some Nigerians was skewed against the principle of separation of powers as one of the major criticisms against the legislature was that it failed to rise to occasion when the need be on oversight functions and the rule of law?
These teasers, according to some Nigerians become imperative, given the pledge made by Lawan and Gbajabiamila in separate inaugural speeches as president of the Senate and Speaker of the House in June 2019. Lawan had said he and other senators were poised to begin the urgent task of rebuilding Nigerian institution and renewing the Nigerian dream, stressing that he spent the last 20 years then learning the ropes of how to make the National Assembly work better.
“In the 9th Senate, no dream is too big to imagine, no challenge is too great to surmount. We will pursue our goal of a better and brighter future, we will no longer settle for anything less than the best. We will work with and collaborate with other arms of government to reclaim our country and restore our values. We will dream big, aim high and take bold initiatives….I want to seize this opportunity to tell the entire nation, particularly those that are in doubt, that the Senate and indeed the legislature is going to operate independently in accordance with its own rules, procedures and time honoured norms and best practices. While working closely with the executive arm to deliver the dividends of democracy to the Nigerian people.
Our legislative agenda must focus on enacting laws and strengthening existing laws to facilitate the reforms required to truly take our nation, our people and our economy to the next level.” Lawan also promised that the legislators would no shirk in their responsibility in appreciating the mandate they freely got from the people. His words: “Let it be said that we have come to this chamber conscious of the trust our constituents have reposed on us. Dear colleagues, we must not betray that trust. To this extent, in the next four years, we must drive a transformative Senate dedicated to serving the people with confidence, courage and patriotism.”
As the new speaker, Gbajabiamila had also, in his inaugural address, promised that under his leadership, the House “would be shaking the table, just a little.”He pledged that it was “going to be a House of reform or a reformed assembly,” hence, “It will not be business as usual but I will be shaking the table, just a little. We will be introducing various reforms that will re-position institutions. But please rest assured that it will be for the good of all.” However, he said there was indeed a big task ahead. “There is much work to be done and there is just a little time. Let’s get to work. Nigerians are waiting,” he said.
“There comes a time in the life and history of a people when they interrogate the past and present, review past sacrifices, miscalculations and errors and collectively decide to opt for change, peace and progress. We are at such a moment in this country. Honourable Colleagues of the 9th Assembly this is our time, this is our moment as history beckons. The 9th Assembly under my leadership is going to be a House of reforms. The reforms will be dished out piecemeal and at intervals so as not to shock the system. Moving forward therefore my dear colleagues, it will not be business as usual and we will be shaking the table just a little. We will be introducing various reforms that will reposition this institution but please be rest assured that they will be for the greater good,” he said. Then, the APC had 66 seats in the Senate, PDP 38, NNPP 1 and YPP 1. In the House, the APC had 227 seats, PDP 121, APGA 4, NNPP 3, ADC 1 and PRP 1. But in the current Senate, APC has 59 senators, PDP 36, LP 8, SDP 2 NNPP 2, APGA 1 and YPP 1.In the House, the APC has 162 seats, PDP 102, LP 34, NNPP 18, APGA 4, ADC 2, SDP 2 and YPP 1.
To what extent were the last leaders of the National assembly able to accomplish those lofty goals? A legal luminary, Mr Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa gave an insight into that era. Citing clear instances to buttress his views on the activities of the National Assembly in the last dispensation, the legal luminary and activist was concerned about the issue of independence of the legislature.
“In the recent dispensation, the executive arm of government was always certain of maximum support and approval of all proposals and requests, no matter how unpopular, injurious or backward. This was contrary to the expectation that the legislature should assert its independence based on the principle of separation of powers and the doctrine of checks and balances.
According to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), the three arms of government are expected to operate independently and complimentarily, not dependent upon or patronising, in the manner that the 9th Assembly has carried on. No doubt it is good to have a responsible legislature for the purpose of harmonization and development but when it gets to the level where the executive is always right, then such level of dubious cooperation should worry all lovers of true democracy.
He declared: “A legislature that cannot supervise and check the excesses of the executive is not worth its name at all. Truth is, such an assembly of persons, cannot claim to represent anyone, when the chips are down. They represent only themselves, only their interests and their stomachs.” He noted that the 9th National Assembly operated more like a weeping institution, a clearing house and a reporting Chamber, where elected representatives of the people stoop to beg directors of parastatals to attend public hearings, at times issuing empty threats without any follow-up action and granting virtually all the requests of the executive.
Having succeeded in installing its cronies in positions of authority at the National Assembly, the executive has since then embarked upon mindless borrowings, putting our nation at the mercy of shylock imperialists, who whimsically drafted contracts that threaten even our cherished sovereignty, at times in their own language. Yes, it is a National Assembly that prides itself in ‘reporting’ errant serving ministers and heads of parastatals who defy its summons, to the president.”
He said that as elected representatives of the people, the National Assembly is expected to assert the will of the people by invoking the relevant provisions of the Constitution in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities of lawmaking, supervising the executive arm and also to prevent waste and corruption.
He stated that “So much has been invested in the National Assembly in order to guarantee optimum performance and so the leadership of such a crucial organ should not be a matter of political patronage or reward for perceived electoral support. We cannot afford the misfortune of parading elected representatives who are whipped along the lines of executive preferences, all the time. There has to be a balance of power and of forces, for our nation to ever dream of attaining the expected growth that our leaders have touted so often.
“In choosing the leadership of the 10th National Assembly therefore, the most important criteria should be competence, which can also include experience, qualification and indeed reputation. As the saying goes, the fish gets rotten from the head, so the kind of leaders to be entrusted with the management of the National Assembly is key to our national development.”
Apart from the issue of excesses of the agencies of government, pundits also raised the problem of perceived excesses of the executive arm of government in the immediate past, with the National assembly failing to fully assert its oversight power. It is one the factors that some groups have latched on to hold mixed feelings on the change of guard in the leadership of the National Assembly. One of such groups is the Human Rights Writers Associates (HURIWA), expressed doubts Nigerians would witness a robust, independent, and pro-people federal legislature in the new dispensation because of the circumstances that thrust the new leadership to office as presiding officers. This is notwithstanding the promise by the new president of the Senate, Senator Akpabio to discharge the responsibilities of his office with utmost dedication, integrity, and fairness, stressing that he was conscious of the enormous responsibilities placed on his shoulders. We will, as a forward-looking Senate, pass laws that emphasise economic viability, social acceptability and environmental sustainability, to encourage alternate and green technologies without prejudicing our developmental needs. We must, therefore, as a Senate, rise to partner His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and provide the required legislative framework and legal environment for him to anchor the policies and programmes that he espouses for the country.”
The new Speaker of the 10th House, Honourable Tajudeen Abbas, says he is ready to guarantee the independence of the legislature even as he hopes to surpass the gains of the 10th House, collaborate with the senate and introduce reforms and innovations for the benefit of Nigerians. He said the House would work closely and inter-dependently with the executive and judiciary to give Nigerians good governance.
“We stand at a crucial juncture in our nation’s history, where challenges abound, but so do opportunities. We will champion legislations that will uplift the lives of our fellow citizens, promote social justice, and drive sustainable development. We will focus on strengthening our security apparatus, collaborating with relevant stakeholders to combat insurgency, terrorism, and all forms of criminality. We aim to help create a safe and secure environment that fosters economic growth and social stability.”
But the new speaker said all these would be done without undermining the independence of the House such that it would be a rubber stamp: “If you talk about rubber stamp, look at the acceptance rate, those who have elected those across party lines, almost the whole PDP, SDP, ADC and all other minority parties voted us. So if they felt that we are going to be rubber stamps, do you think they will elect us? No. They believe that we will safeguard the sanctity of the National Assembly, the legislature.”
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