10th NASS to suffer deficit of experience ― Don

Òsárétín Òsádébàmwén – Abuja

The 10th National Assembly would be limited by a capacity gap among lawmakers, following the large number of new legislators who would need to be trained on legislative duties.

Associate Professor, Department of Political Science at the University of Abuja, Ernest Ereke, said this while fielding questions on Channels’ morning show, the Sunrise Daily.

He said it means that more money would be devoted to the capacity development of these new members who would have to be exposed to parliamentary practices and procedures as part of the legislative duties.

He said this would require huge funds especially ad 70% of the legislators are new.

His words: “In the Senate, for instance, we have only about 28 senators returning, as at the last count. About 73 are going to be new.”

He said while the legislature would be open to new ideas and it would be an assembly that would be on a learning curve.

He said it would be low in experience which would be needed in the assembly.

According to him “Parliamentary tradition and practices, experience counts. That is why in some climes, legislation is almost a career thing and experience is very key in legislative issues.

“Our own case is even worse because of we do not invest so much in building the capacity of legislative staff and the institutional memory of the legislature.”

The don said the 10th assembly would be the most diverse in terms of party representation and that would generate passion to bring up new ideas however, such would not dismiss the importance of experience needed to drive the process.

His word: “When asked, do Nigerians appreciate the fact that experience counts in legislative matters, I wouldn’t I have not seen that given the trend of our elections.

“Since 1999, we have continued to talk about this high rate of return in the national assembly. What it means that we do not understand is that the legislature needs some level of consistency and stability in order to benefit from the experience of the capacities of legislators.

“So if you take the trend of the high rate of return in the national assembly, you can safely conclude that Nigerians do not really, appreciate the fact that experience matters so much in a way in legislative matters.”

He pointed out that the high rate of return in the 10th assembly was a demonstration of the democratic spirit amongst Nigerians who are determining who will speak on their behalf in the legislature.

Ereke said the 2023 general election has told politicians that they are truly at the mercy of the electorates, therefore they have to prove their mettle in whatever position they occupy to earn their further trust.

“If you do not perform as a representative, legislator, senator, or member of the House of Representatives. The people will always be there to take back their mandate to whomever they believe would better handle that responsibility.”

READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE