Dogara urges 10th NASS to prioritise legislative agenda amid external pressures

Former Speaker of the 8th House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, on Monday tasked the 10th Assembly with developing strategic means to ensure the implementation of its Legislative Agenda despite undue interference from other arms of government.

Hon Dogara gave the charge while delivering a goodwill message on behalf of past Principal Officers of the House at the inaugural Policy Dialogue of the 10th House of Representatives, organised by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), UK Aid, and the National Assembly Library Trust Fund (NALTF).

The former Speaker narrated how a former President called him regarding complaints from his cabinet members over the sectoral debate on economic diversification during the 8th Assembly.

He said, “I was in the committee of the House that crafted the first legislative agenda of the House of Representatives. And of course, as Speaker myself, I midwived one.

“But the challenge has always been the implementation. Whether you’re talking about the allocation of resources and then intervention from some other arms of government.

“I remember one of the cardinal points we had in the 8th Assembly legislative agenda was the issue of sectoral debates, and we started—it was going on very well.

“And then I had a call. ‘Mr Speaker, my Ministers are complaining that you have prevented them from working’.

“And it was just for a minute or so, maybe just 30 or 40 minutes, in areas that we thought were very, very critical to the national economy. Because then we were talking about diversification of our revenue sources.

“And then the complaint was that we had prevented the Ministers from working.

“And so I’m overjoyed that we’re having this sitting. For me, this national dialogue shows two things that this House intends to achieve. First of all, interfacing with relevant stakeholders and international Development Partners means that the House is prepared to be held accountable in respect to this vision that it has thrown out.

“So it’s like inviting us to hold their feet to the fire. And I can see that so many experienced people saturate this audience today, who can do that.

“And secondly, by throwing this discussion open and engaging with the relevant stakeholders, the outcomes of the implementation will definitely reflect the choices and the needs of the stakeholders.

“Mr Speaker, I would encourage you. I have read through some of the very bold declarations of the legislative agenda. But in order to bring it into being, it will require gravitas, gumption, and greed, which in the course of my interaction with you and your Deputy Speaker, whom I had to pause just last week to describe as one of the Magi of the East.

“You have what it takes. You have what it takes to bring this to fruition. You see, because whatever we are saying here, whatever we do, no matter how lofty, no matter the language we have used in crafting this agenda, it will not bring transformation.

“What brings transformation is not what we know. It’s not even what we teach. It is what we do. And they say the difference between politicians and statesmen is that statesmen have the capacity to translate promises into achievement, while politicians just make promises.

“I believe that you have a place in this country and a place reserved for this House for all of you to show leadership and support the leaders of this House to ensure that this legislative agenda is translated into reality for the benefit of our team in this country.

“On behalf of former presiding officers, it is to me to pledge our absolute support and to say that anything you call upon us, we are there. We are waiting. We will never shy away. We will never run away from this House of Representatives that first gave us our teeth.”

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