Wabara: Senate Committees Performed Poorly
From Kola Ologbondiyan in Abuja
As the senators resumed sitting yesterday, Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the upper legislative body but noted that in spite of the dismal outcome of some committees, the productivity of the Senate has been commendable.
Wabara, who disclosed this in an address he read to the senators before the session began, hinted that the current system in which a senator may belong to as many as six committees could make them less effective as they have to spread their time thinly on the various committees.
As a way out, Wabara said the Committee of Selection would in future consider the reduction in the membership of committees for each senator to about five or six. "This will give each senator not more than three committees and thereby enhance his concentration and input in the work of the committees.
He noted that during the first legislative year, "some committees held 12 - 14 meetings while some held just 2 meetings. One had expected that a committee should meet at least twice in one month. At that rate, even the committees created in January 2004, should have held at least ten meetings by June 2004.
"The records indicate that the Senate held 73 public hearings during the period under review. The Senate is the assemblage of the best that Nigeria has in statesmanship, deliberating at the upper chamber of the legislature.
The bills and motions that we pass in this chamber differ from the initial proposals from the executive arm of government or from any other source, in that, the final version of a bill which we read a third time and pass, reflects not only our collective inputs as legislators but is also procedurally grilled in the vortex of informed public opinion and expert's advice," he said further.
Charging the committees to avail themselves of the invaluable source of knowledge and data for legislative business which public hearings represents, Wabara however recalled that the Senate had adopted the system of giving specific time frame for all bills and motions referred to committees.
"In adopting that principle, we calculated that at the end of a session, not many bills and motions would remain stranded in committees. Our Standing Rules also stipulate that all bills and motions referred to a committee shall be reported out even where the committee recommends that the bill should not proceed," he said.
Noting that no fewer than 44 bills are stuck with the Committee on Rules and Business awaiting second reading, the Senate President disclosed further that 18 bills referred to the committees were not reported out of the committees; six treaties referred to the committees are yet to be reported out even as four motions are still held up in the committees secretariat.
"If the last session were the 4th Session for this Senate, those bills and motions would have technically lapsed whatever their merit. I would therefore urge committees to please endeavour to work within the time frame given by the Senate during referrals.
"As you will agree with me, after we have left here, history shall judge us by the improvement we have brought to the lives and conditions of living of Nigerians through the laws we enacted during the period we served as senators in this chamber," he said.
Urging senators to present the reports of their trips, whether foreign or local, Wabara said such reports would "enhance Senate's stock of data" while "knowledge and experiences acquired by one committee would shared by others for the overall improvement of our general practices, procedures and perception of national policy processes, determinants, implementations strategies, focuses and cost-benefit analysis."
Describing committees as the "main hubs for legislative duties in a presidential legislature," Wabara explained that, "in advanced democracies where there are adequate records of government business, economic, political and social transactions and developments, it is possible for a Senate of 109 members to operate with not more than 20 committees.
"As we are all aware, elaborate record keeping and easy retrieval of information is a new culture in both public and private institutions in our case. In addition we have to cater for geopolitical concerns in an important national institution like the Senate".
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