In mathematical terms, the effort of the House of Representatives in passing 26 Bills into law out of the 99 that were introduced during the last legislative session, may not be regarded as a pass mark. But it can be exculpated from this when weighed against the fact that most of its members lacked the cognate experience in legislative business. In addition, they were bogged down by administrative constraints of immense proportion as they carried on with their constitutional responsibilities.
The major portion of the House’s assignment is consummated virtually at the committee stage. This, under normal circumstances therefore, makes committees the nerve-cell, the de facto engine room and in fact, the crucible of the legislature. But what did we have in the last one year ? It was a situation of extreme difficulties for many of the committees. That should necessarily attract sympathy and even accolade from the most hardened of critics of the House’s performance.
There are 71 of such committees, recently raised from 68 by the Speaker, Hon. Aminu Bello Masari, to ensure a more thorough handling of legislative matters. However, many of the committee chairmen have no offices let alone their members. No form of office equipment, even when it is so vital to the success of their assignments. Besides, extracting the necessary information from federal ministries, parastatals, agencies and organisations over which they have oversight right, was oftentimes a Herculean task. Many of such government outfits tended to scornfully dismiss their entreaties. These are part of the nagging encumbrances that the speaker is determined to work assiduously to minimise within the current legislative session for an improved performance of the lower chamber of the national assembly.
As a matter of fact, the implementation of the plan to provide functional office accommodation for members who are currently without offices has reached advanced stage. And as the speaker told the nation at the opening of the second session recently, the service committees would be strengthened and the standing committees re-invigorated to add bite to their output. When this is done, it would be expected that there will be minimal delay in the consideration of Bills at the committee level as was, sadly, often the case during the last session.
But in spite of the seeming shortcomings, the House of Representatives under the benign, focused and level-headed leadership of Hon. Masari has been able to carve out a niche for itself as a true peoples’ parliament. This is exemplified in the main, by its handling of various contentious issues that threatened the fabrics of sections of the Nigerian society. Some of these include the perennial ethno-religious strife in Plateau State, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) strikes, Kogi/Edo States border skirmishes, Anambra State political crisis and pipeline fire outbreaks in Abia State. The timely intervention of the lower house in these matters assisted in their resolution and strengthened the confidence the lawmakers enjoy from members of the public.
This confidence is reinforced by the demonstrable independence of this House of Representatives as it exercises its cardinal role of checks and balances on the executive and the judicial arms of government without necessarily inflaming passions. This is typical of Hon. Masari’’s demeanour.
The speaker has shown that he is driven by selflessness and a sense of patriotism and has consequently, ensured that there is neither undue altercation nor needless conflicts between the house and the executive arm of government or among members. Similarly, he does not press for the rigid application of the principle of separation of powers even though he would not oblige a situation that could compromise the much cherished independence of the legislature.
The result of these mature inclinations is a convivial relationship between both arms of government which, by extension, has engendered a peaceful and stable polity. This must come as a welcome development for all watchers of the bearing of the House of Representatives against the near-suffocating circumstances of the previous dispensation as well as the initial skepticism that greeted the advent of his leadership.
This positive relationship is not about to change. The hunch is that it would be improved upon during this session. Having achieved that and the committees fortified to be more responsive to their responsibilities, the stage would be auspicious to consolidate the gains of the last legislative session.
Hon. Masari has set a target of the passage, within a reasonable time frame, of 50 Bills carried over from the last session. In arriving at this, he was not unmindful of the yardstick for measuring the success of any legislative body and therefore, aptly pointed it out in his remark to mark the commencement of this session. ‘‘The Legislature is assessed by the number of legislation it has enacted, be they Bills originating from the Executive, members themselves and Private Bills,’’ he had reminded his colleagues. This patently underscores the direction the House will move this session. Priority would be given to Bills covering issues that impact directly on the living conditions of Nigerians.
In Hon. Masari’s view, ‘‘the problems of unemployment, inadequate health facilities, poor infrastructure, poverty and lack of education for our teeming population are there to be addressed and must be addressed.’’ That is why he would position and steer the House, in the course of this legislative session, towards the realization of the objectives enunciated by NEEDS, NAPEP and related government poverty alleviation initiatives.
While he recognise that there would be rough and extremely tough challenges ahead, the speaker would not be deterred because he believes that members of the House, as being encouraged, would re-dedicate and reposition themselves for their responsibility of enacting legislation for peace, order and good governance. He is therefore confident that the House would acquit itself well in the assigned task of service to the people this session, more so as the lawmakers have improved on their legislative skills.
Hon. Masari has consistently demonstrated that he places the interest of the ordinary Nigerian above other considerations in his handling of deliberations of contentious issues in the House. He has been largely impartial, even-handed and oftentimes, engages in self-abnegation to the admiration of his friends and opponents alike in the lower chamber. These characteristics combine to explain the seeming abstruse peace the House has continued to luxuriate in under his leadership. Nigerians must therefore be hopeful that in him, there is one person that is genuinely concerned about their yearnings and aspirations and would stop at nothing to contribute his personal best to the realization of their dreams. The current legislative session holds a lot of promises for the people and with the total commitment of members of the House of Representatives, it will not be long before the result of their efforts become manifest.
Leon Usigbe is the Special Assistant (print media) to the Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives.
