Agenda for the 10th National Assembly

The resumption of the 10th National Assembly yesterday (Tuesday)  is coming when the country is confronted with alots of challenges from the fuel subsidy removal, skyrocketed inflation, instability in dollars/Naira exchange rates, Insecurity and poor Infrastructural Sector.

With the birth of new Leadership, Sen.  Godswill Akpabio and Dr Tajudeen Abbas as President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives respectively, Nigerians are highlighted and expect several people policies formulations to hits the ground running.

Yesterday, the National Assembly selected her principal Leaders to assist in effective running of affairs of the legislative arm of government. The Senate President, Goodwill Akpabio made the announcement on Tuesday at the plenary.

According to the announcement, Ekiti Central lawmaker, Opeyemi Bamidele, was named the Senate Majority Leader, while Senator Dave Umahi, representing Ebonyi South was announced as the Deputy Majority Leader.

Also, Senator Ali Ndume from Borno South was declared as the Chief Whip; and Senator Lola Ashiru (Kwara South) was declared as the Deputy Whip. Akpabio stated, “The All Progressives Congress caucus of the Senate after consultations, has emerged with their leadership which will be the fulcrum of commencing other businesses of the chamber.

“I’m happy to announce that by consensus, the Senate Leader, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, will be the Majority Leader.

Sen. Mohammed Ndume (APC-Borno) will be the Chief Whip of the 10th Senate; Sen. David Umahi (APC-Ebonyi), by your consent, will act as the Deputy Leader and Sen. Lola Ashiru (APC-Kwara) will be the Deputy Chief Whip.”

After a predictable but intriguing political exercise, is an indicator that will once again test the democratic quotient of this administration. By deferring to what pundits termed ‘the choice of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,’ the legislators of the 10th National Assembly have raised questions about the implication of this choice to governance in this Administration.

Beyond the selection and allocation of various committees at the National Assembly, the 10th Assembly must do something completely different from what we saw during the 9th legislature. They need to bring back the citizens hope on the legislative arm of the government

They must take very seriously their mandate to monitor how the funds they appropriate to the Executive and Judiciary are spent to ensure due process, transparency and accountability. They must also do self-monitoring, ensuring that their own spending is open to public scrutiny. After all, they represent the people, not themselves.

Fortunately, We expect the 10th National Assembly to support the war against corruption, holding the anti-graft agencies to account and bringing anyone in the present or past regimes, irrespective of their stations or party affiliations, to account for the ways they handled public finance when necessary. There must be zero tolerance to the Muhammadu Buhari appointees’ habit of ignoring NASS summonses.

The 10th National Assembly must stand with the people, ensuring that our constitutional rights are upheld in every part of the country. We say this mindful of the ethnic profiling that took place in Lagos during the last elections, and the defiant threat by the Lagos State House of Assembly to confiscate the properties of non-indigenes.Such brazen affronts on our constitutional rights must be confronted and nipped in the bud wherever they occur.

There is a need for truthful and direct answers because the country is bleeding. Nigeria is in dire need of a legislature that truly embodies the ideals and aspirations of the people. There is a conscious yearning for a national assembly that indeed reflects the desires and wishes of the Nigerian masses for a government that protects and supports its citizens. The expectation of every well-meaning Nigerian is a country where poverty, hunger, insecurity and all divisive tendencies would be remembered only when our history is written.

Of course, this might sound utopian but it is as realizable as it is achievable. All that is required are strategic thinking, leadership creativity and sincerity of purpose. And herein lies the greatest challenge for the 10th national assembly.

If it truly wishes to offer itself as a legislature that Nigerians can proudly embrace and own, then it is no longer about the traditional detailed and appealing legislative agenda that prove too vague and ambiguous to implement in the long run. Rather, the occasion calls for a pragmatic and concise blueprint that has the inert capacity to frontally tackle the issues of poverty and hunger in the land. It is no longer about political expediency but about patriotism and nationalism. It is about making a positive difference for the benefit of posterity.

Finally, there should be a mechanism to ensure that every legislator maintains a functional constituency office and also will be presenting a quarterly report of their regular interface with the constituents. This is to ensure that the streamlined views and needs of the constituents are accorded national attention for integrated and ordered development. Above all, the lawmakers must work in unity to achieve the targeted results.