Tinubu’s Requests: Again, lawmakers sacrificing due diligence for speed
There is an emerging trend in the National Assembly. It has been noticed that once a bill or request emanates from the president, the lawmakers pass or approve it at the speed of light.
During the past week, the lawmakers approved four requests from the president. The lawmakers passed the Student Loan Bill (Repeal and Enactment Bill), N1.2 trillion budget of the FCT, amendments to the 2023 Appropriation Act and 2023 Supplementary Budget, and the request to increase the salaries of the judicial officers.
President Tinubu sent the Student Loan Bill to the House on 14 March, citing the inability to implement the law in its extant form. The president proposed some amendments to the Act, and the lawmakers gave the bill an expedited passage on Wednesday.
The majority of the recommendations in the proposed amendments by the president are not controversial. In fact, many of the recommendations are popular and may explain the rush by the lawmakers.
Similarly, the bill to increase the wages and allowances of the judiciary did not generate any controversy. Hence, the lawmakers did not debate the president’s proposed increments.
Almost two years later, Reps still investigating Kuje prison attack
On Wednesday, an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives held a one-day hearing into the 2022 attack on the Kuje correctional facility.
One of the reasons the National Assembly has been seriously criticised is the poor handling of probes and resolutions.
Often, the House does not have a good record-keeping system and institutional memory to prevent duplications.
This matter was probed by a committee of the last Assembly with a report submitted to the House for consideration. But with the last assembly adjourned sine die, the lawmakers are conducting a fresh probe into the same matter.
In November last year, a member of the House, Emmanuel Ukpong-Udo, moved a motion for a probe of the attack. However, Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno) raised an objection and informed the House that an investigation was done on the same subject matter. Consequently, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas directed relevant committees to review the report submitted by the ad hoc committee.
Even so, the lawmakers still went ahead with a fresh investigation.
Wike’s unusual request and the debt-ridden budget
While appearing before the House Committee on FCT on Monday to defend the N1.1 trillion budget of his ministry, the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, said he needs security votes to tackle the insecurity currently ravaging the Nigerian capital.
The security vote is a controversial and corruption-ridden scheme often used by state governors arbitrarily without any form of transparency. Anti-corruption advocates have long argued that the security vote is a conduit for siphoning funds.
“As a governor, my director of SSS can meet me and say ‘We need to carry out an operation this night’. We need N30 million to carry out that operation. I don’t need to meet the accountant. All I need to say is ‘go and take money there,’” the minister told the lawmakers.
Mr Wike, who earned the reputation of being a hardliner during his tenure as governor of Rivers, lamented the bureaucratic hurdles he has to contend with as FCT minister.
However, the lawmakers did not give the minister any commitment.
Mr Wike is proposing a N1.14 trillion budget, but N500 billion is expected to be sourced from commercial banks, while total internally generated revenue is projected to be N637 billion.
The lawmakers approved this budget despite the huge debt burden it’s going to bring to the FCT.
Good deed for widows and widowers
The lawmakers also considered a bill to give widows and widowers enough time to mourn their deceased spouses.
This bill, sponsored by Saidu Abdullahi (APC, Niger), scaled second reading without any opposition from any of the members.
The bill, if passed into law, would grant a widow five months paid leave to mourn her deceased spouse, while a widower is entitled to one month’s paid leave.
Early, long holidays for lawmakers
Last week, the House shut down early on Wednesday to embark on about one month holiday after they hurriedly passed some of the bills.
It is not clear why the lawmakers decided to embark on the Easter and Eid Fitri holidays very early, though, it was speculated that some of the Muslim lawmakers may want to attend the lesser hajj (Umrah) in Saudi Arabia. Hence, they will be resuming after the Eid festival on 16 April.
READ ALSO: Why were yet to launch Nigerias students loan scheme Official
Nigerian workers across the country are expected to get four days of holidays for the two festivities and will even have to wait for the interior ministry to declare the holidays. The lawmakers chose not to wait for the ministry, perhaps in obedience to their legislative calendar. They declared their own holidays and will be away for 27 days.
However, some of the lawmakers may continue to work at the committee level during the break.
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