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Labour Reform Bill : Anxiety as NASS resumes
IHEANACHO NWOSU
THE bubbling and burstling in Abuja, the nation’s seat of
power will inch further up tomorrow as members of the National Assembly return
to their chambers to face their supposedly challenging legislative duties after
a long recess of seven weeks.
Obviously their return is going to tickle a number of
critical sections and circles in the polity. But far, beyond that it will be met
with a bag of expectations from Nigerians.
Really, groundswell of touchy issues abound in the country
which make unusual and increased interest in the National Assembly resumption
inevitable. Even before it embarked on the long break, at the elapse of their
first legislative year, the declaration of a state emergency on Plateau State
had almost pushed some people to clamour that it shelve the recess.
Dusts on the state of emergency, are yet to fizzle out of
the polity. But that aside, the issue enjoying the greatest attention of many a
Nigerian today is the move by the presidency to decentralise the Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC) as well as the recent bombshell by the Central Bank of Nigeria
ordering banks to recapitalised to the tune of N25 billion.
A bill on labour has already been sent to the National
Assembly. Not only that Nigerians have shown their strong disgust and disdain to
the bill, the deafening furore that has attended the plan aptly tells how
irritable it is to the people. Many, surely are eagerly waiting to see how the
National Assembly handles the matter.
Few well placed Nigerians have joined opposition political
parties to insinuate that the legislators may pander towards the whims of the
Presidency. But that is largely a presumptuous, just as the persistent
allegation that the current National Assembly is a rubber stamp has only
elicited varied interpretations.
But all these are not the only issues that will stand
menancingly on the way of the legislatures. Sure, one issue that is by far
weightily on the minds of many is the on-going constitution review by the
assembly members. Needless emphasising the fact that many are still pessimistic
about the capacity of the lawmakers to churn out an acceptable and qualitative
constitutional reforms.
The scepticism is even more in the clamour for the review
of the nation’s Electoral Law. As Chief Bayo Ojo, Senior Advocate of Nigeria
(SAN) and Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) presidential aspirant puts it the
current Electoral Law is fraught with large scale pitfalls.
First, as argued by reverred Nigerians, it is troubling
that more than a year after elections, petitions arising from the polls are yet
to be treated and disposed of by Tribunals and Appeal Court.
Apart from that, there are still questions as to whether
the petitions have to get to the levels they get and the rationality in swearing
in individuals to offices when their elections are being contested in the court
by their opponents.
Some people hold strongly the view that this practice has
given a robust encouragement to unbriddled electoral practices as perpetrators
use their office afterward to manoeuvre legal hurdles.
Of course many politicians, especially those favoured by
the practice would hardly acknowledge the grain of the argument. But that is for
the legislators to look into.
They are also to critically dissect the burning economic
debates especially the N25 billion capital base issue. Currently there are
divided voices in the Senate on the issue. But by far, the matter goes beyond
mere outpour of sentiments. Ojo and a number of notable Nigerians believe that
germane as electoral and constitutional review are to the nation, the need to
reform the economy to the point that it will open vistas for the common man in
the street to bring food to his table remain one of the most immediate
expectations.
The performance of the two chambers have earned them kudos
from some well placed Nigerians but the general consensus is that NASS will
achieve more if members will be less cantankerous and self serving in their
daily dealing with one another especially the leadership of the chambers.
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