Bills Nigerians must watch out for in NASS

As it resumes after recess, the ninth National Assembly has indicated its determination to give due attention to legislations that would improve governance in all aspects. The legislature hopes to build on the existing cordial relationship between the Senate and the executive for the overall benefit of the populace. The smooth executive-legislative relationship, according to some lawmakers, is considered critical because of the need to advance good governance.

Chief among the legislators that view is the chairman the National Assembly and president of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan, who has repeatedly said, the Senate would continue to work with President Muhammadu Buhari to guarantee quality ssrvice delivery and good governance. His words: “As a legislature, we know where our limits lie in terms of cooperation and in working with the executive arm of government. But, we are going to give the President and his team every possible legislative support that they require to make this country better and greater. Where we feel that there is a breach of procedures and processes by the executive arm of government, we will insist that the right things are done.”

Of course, Nigerians regardless of political affiliation or any narrow interest agree with the leadership of the Senate on that position. According to observers and other stakeholders, doing this will benefit the Senate, the executive and the Nigerian people while the process of legislation runs smooth.

Already, the Senate has bills from various quarters for consideration and passage. A lot of them are in the works of the Senate Committee on Business and Rules. A number of the bills have scaled First Reading, just as others are at the stage of Second Reading. The ones the Senate has so far given priority included: the Finance Bill; the Production Sharing Contract Bill and the 2020 Appropriation Bill, all of which have scaled all legislative processes and have been passed, with President Buhari giving his assent.

However, three other bills that appear to engage the public attention more lately. The interest is not altogether positive, particularly, for the bill that sought to ‘arrest’ Freedom of Expression, as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended). It is entitled: A bill for an act to provide for the prohibition of hate speeches and for other related matters, and sponsored by the deputy Whip of the Senate, Abdullahi Aliyu Sabi representing Niger North.

A second term senator and veterinary doctor, Sabi was the spokesman of the eighth Assembly. He holds very strong views that have to do with the eighthAssembly.

Last year, theaforementioned bill generated a widespread national rejection. The sentiments and consequent public rejection of the bill, among others, sought to establish a national commission for the prohibition of hate speeches. The proposed commission name is also the short title of the bill.

A critical mass mobilised against the bill at every public discourse, and the opinion in certain circles is that the advocate of the bill knows that the outright public reaction could pass for a public hearing on the bill. And given such sentiments on the bill, its fate hangs in the balance. Where it scales second hearing at plenary and goes for the second, and, the only legislative public hearing, it would be dead by legislative process.

The death of the bill has been the greatest fear of its sponsor, who has adopted shadowy measures to put the bill in good public light. On one occasion, the sponsor of the bill through a statement quoted an officer in the United States Embassy, who said the bill was “impressive” but blamed the Nigerian media for being “hysterical” and misleading.”

 

What does the bill seek to address?

Sabigave an insight into what informed the bill. According to him, “It sought to dismantle the room for any kind of discrimination of persons on the ground of religion, ethnicity, race and other such consideration of human profiling in manner that hurts a person or people.” The sponsor and veterinary doctor, whose research has always been in controlled environment, may have thought that for his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to succeed in power, it was important to tamper with the freedom of expression of Nigerians. Therefore, the bill is embedded with severe sanctions against anyone that undermines it once it becomes an Act of Parliament. “Any person, who commits an offence under this section, shall be liable to life imprisonment and where theact causes any loss of life, the person shall be punished with death by hanging.”  Apart from the rage triggered by the bill, its timing was also curious to the majority of Nigerians, on the vital question of is qualified and competent to determine what should constitute hate speech.

Further checks, however, revealed that there are more bills that may be seeking to trample with the rights of expression of Nigerians.Alongside the billis its twin, coming from another Senator from Niger State, Mohammed Sani Musa, representing Niger East. It is entitled: A bill for an Act to Make for the prosecution from internet Falsehoods and for other related matters.

While Senator Sani’s did not prescribe death penalty by hanging, the proposed N300,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both for offenders; or in any other case, to a fine not exceeding N10m for media organisation.

Two more bills relating to hate speeches are the legislative babies of a former governor of Yobe State, Senator Ibrahim Geidam and Senator Stella Oduah.

In her bid to curtail hate speeches associated with religious bigotry, Oduah, the Anambra senator, proposed reliance on extant laws addressing the respective offences. On his part, Geidam proposed a jail term of five years or fine not more than one million or both for any individual convicted by the provisions of his proposed bill. It further prescribes that the principal officer of any website, which contravenes the provision of the bill if passed, should be “held personally liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N5million or to a term not exceeding five years, or both. The sanctions would be invoked if any individual or corporate entity “utters, publishes, posts words or images intended to invite feelings of contempt, hatred, hostility, violence or discrimination against any person group or community on the basis of ethnicity or race.”

While all the four bills are intertwined and dwell on freedom of speech, another bill that deserves the attention of Nigerians are the two bills sponsored by the deputy President of the Senate, Senator Augustine Ovie Omo-Agege. These are the Electoral Act amendment bill and the Sexual Harassment bill. Both bills seek to advance a good governance structure in the national polity and the tertiary institutions. The second bill, if passed, will to a large extent, insulate vulnerable students, especially teenagers and female students from the actions of lecturers that cannot control their libido.The intent is to arm vulnerable students to challenge any sexually related victimisation by any lecturer who may seek to undermine their academic performance on the basis of being denied sexforgrade.

The third bill, the Electoral Act Amendment bill, in its proposition before the Senate, Where it has scaled second reading, seeks to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to accommodate new technologies in the accreditation of voters during elections; reduction of nomination fees charged by political parties and granting party agents the right to inspect original electoral materials before the commencement of polls.

The proposals, like the sponsor of the bill said at plenary during its second reading, are responses to various Supreme Court judgments to better the electoral system. According to the initiators, the passage will put to rest all debates on the use of Smartcard Reader to authenticate a voter and transmit results. It will also eliminate the restriction often imposed on some good candidates, who may not have money to buy their forms thereby expanding the opportunity for members of political parties to vie for office.

Other highlights include mandating the INEC to suspend an election in order to allow a political party that lost its candidate before or during an election to conduct a fresh primary to elect a replacement or new candidate; prohibiting members of political parties from taking up employment in the INEC; compelling the commission to publish the voter register for public scrutiny at every Registration Area and on its website at least seven days before a general election, among others.

The bill, which is co-sponsored by Senator Abubakar Kyari, representing Borno North, excites the Inter-party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC), the platform where all political parties engage and share political issues. The IPAC excitement was rooted on the need to sanction defaulting officials of INEC and who ought to be prosecuted where found culpable to serve as deterrence. This, also has been addressed by the bill which imposes a fine of N1m or jail term of one year or both for any such contradiction.

So, as the lawmakers settle down to work in 2020 on all these bills, Nigerians will be curious to see how their general interests and fundamental rights in particular are taken into account by their representatives.