Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has urged Senators-elect and Members-elect of the 10th National Assembly to engage in unimpeachable debate.
On Tuesday in Abuja, he declared the induction of the first batch of new representatives.
While congratulating the members on their election victories, Gbajabiamila urged them to justify their positions through the quality of their efforts in those positions.
“This means that the quality of our legislation and advocacy, the excellence of our constituent services, the thoroughness of our oversight activities, and the substance of our chamber debate must be unimpeachable.”
“I welcome you at this historic juncture in our country’s history when the talents, perspectives, and dedication of all political leaders are needed to guide us through current challenges to the success we seek and, hopefully, deserve.”
“As you begin the 10th Assembly, I urge you to remember that nothing of significance is accomplished in parliament through individual effort alone.”
You will either rise or fall together.
“You also have the critical responsibility of developing an effective operational relationship with the executive arm.” “Your responsibility to oversee executive actions is not an invitation to conflict for the sake of conflict.”
He went on to say that the 2023 General Elections would be the most difficult and competitive since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
“Assumptions about electoral performance based on historical precedents proved false in this election.”
“Rooted political parties and interests were dislodged in places where doing so had been impossible for the previous two decades.”
“People who had never run for political office before or whose previous attempts had failed, succeeded this time.”
“Our national politics have been completely rewritten.” Nigerian democracy is entering a new era. Nigerians have realized the enormous power of their votes.
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“This election effectively ended the days when membership in a particular political party guaranteed an officeholder’s reelection.”
According to the speaker, Nigeria’s democratic experience is still very young in comparison to others around the world and even in Africa.
“This dire development imposes an urgent obligation on all of us political leaders to accelerate democratic dividends for all of our nation’s people, or risk total loss of legitimacy, which can only lead to bad outcomes.”
“In order for our democracy to meet the legitimate expectations of the Nigerian people, our government institutions must improve.”
In declaring the induction open, Senate President Ahmad Lawan stated that the 9th Senate was conscious from the start of the negative impact of persistent conflict with the Executive and the resulting impact on legislative activities.
“However, we were also aware that a good working relationship is desirable, if not required, in order to provide effective and efficient service to the people.”
“As a result, the 9th National Assembly adopted a friendly but professional approach to executive-legislative relations under my leadership.”
“The emphasis was on establishing a harmonious working relationship based on mutual respect, consultation, cooperation, collaboration, and partnership.”
“This approach to engaging with the executive has resulted in misunderstanding and misperception, leading many to label the 9th National Assembly as a “rubber stamp” Assembly.”
“Yet, our intention in preferring an engagement with the executive based on harmony and collaboration has been to better serve Nigeria by providing a safe atmosphere for national development.”
Lawan stated that the 9th Senate performed admirably in terms of the quantity and quality of bills introduced, passed, and assented to.
“As of July 2022, 874 bills had been introduced in the Senate, with 162 of them passing.”
“Remarkably, President Muhammadu Buhari has signed 104 bills from the 9th Senate.”
“This was significantly higher than previous assemblies, which had 31 in the 4th Assembly, 98 in the 5th Assembly, 52 in the 6th Assembly, 60 in the 7th Assembly, and 74 in the 8th Assembly.”
Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, Director-General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), also spoke, stating that the institute has the experience, tools, and expertise to assist new members with bill and motion drafting, bill analysis, and scrutiny, among other things.
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Sulaiman urged legislators to engage with the public, civil society, the media, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), and other stakeholders on a regular and constructive basis in order to improve legislation.
Acting British High Commissioner to Nigeria Bill Atkinson, for her part, stated that the commission was proud of its long-standing partnership with the National Assembly.
She stated that the 10th Assembly would be one of the most diverse, with 70% of the members being new.
Atkinson encouraged the new members to “hit the ground running” by learning from their predecessors.
