Reps: 100 days of chaos, confusion
It is 100 days already since the 8th House of Representatives was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari, through the clerk of the National Assembly. Since its inauguration on the 9th of June, the House has been inaduated with plethora of fireworks and somewhat unnecessary politicking, thereby relegating its primary responsibility of lawmaking to the background. All around the world, especially in developed climes, public office holders are judged periodically on their performance in office. In the West, elected representatives strive to make significant imprint within their first 100 days in office.
Between June and August,the media and the political turf were awash with some ignoble moves and developments in the chamber. Nigerians were sharply divided on the performance of President Buhari in his first 100 days in office. While his hard critics scored the president low, his supporters, especially from the north expressed contrary views. But in all fairness, there was a general consensus that the president was on the right track. Many things were attributed to him, ranging from the improved power supply to the gradual dislodgement of Boko Haram the Northeast.
But in the case of the House of Representatives, many Nigerians appear to share the same sentiments on the performance of the lawmakers. The emergence of Mr. Yakubu Dogara as Speaker of the House, against the wish of key members of his party , many believe, has contributed to the chaos that almost crippled the business of lawmaking at the lower chamber of the National Assembly.
Although feuding parties who played key roles in the standoff are resting now , some signs are springing up that suggest they may soon return to the trenches. This time around it about committee constitution. Nigerians who are the biggest casualties of the game of thrones are yet to feel the impact of the House. For three months, television screens have been awashed with political interplay and how some geopolitical zones have been completely left in the cold in the scheme of things.
National newspapers are not exempted from the rhetorics. For months, members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the House refused to shift grounds and their allegiance in the interest of the country. For some political observers, it was a battle of supremacy between the core north and the Southwest. The observers believe that though the physical war maybe over, the fragile trust and political relationships that had existed between the two regional power blocs are in tatters. The series of chaos that have enveloped the House started weeks before its inauguration. Like what played out in 2011 when Aminu Tambuwal joined forces with members of the opposition against his then party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to jettison the zoning arrangements, Dogara adopted the same tactic. He resisted every pressure to sacrifice his personal ambition and accept the position of the Deputy Speaker. He blatantly rejected the offer.
Like Tambuwal in 2014, he eventually defeated the preferred candidate of the party, Femi Gbajabiamila by a slim margin . Since his emergence as Speaker, the lower chamber of the National Assembly has not known peace. Determined to add fuel to burning fire, Dogara again rejected his party’s position on the appointment of other principal officers of the House. This led to a divided House and like a Banana Republic and reminiscent of Dimeji Bankole’s days as Speaker, lawmakers were engaged in fisticuffs.
The fighting came barely 17 days after its inauguration. Nigerians were particularly outraged when news filtered into the air that some school children were at the gallery when the show of shame ensued on the floor of the Green Chamber. Former minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili had lambasted Dogara over his failure to nip the problem in the bud. She had also accused the Speaker of setting a bad precedence in the presence of the school children who witnessed the brawl.
“What message do you think those children took away from you and your colleagues? Sadly, they will never forget today. How many of you agree that members of House of Representatives owe those children who had to watch their embarrassing brawl a big apology? Fighting/wrestling in the sanctum of democracy just makes a mockery of democratic ethos of disagreeing without being disagreeable. No progressive society in the league of those our lawmakers like to visit got their status without discipline,” she said.
Shamed by the outcry from Nigerians, the House issued an apology which failed in remedying the colossal damage that had been caused by the public display of shame. The chairman of House adhoc committee on Media, Mr. Sani Zorro addressed a press conference where he said, “The House wishes to state that the action of these Members is regrettable and not in consonance with the objectives of the 8th Assembly as the House was set to continue deliberation on its Legislative Agenda, and other matters that directly affect the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians. The House therefore sincerely apologizes to Nigerians for the ugly events of today.
“We reiterate the admonition of the Hon. Speaker, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, that the 8th House in fulfillment of its electoral mandate shall devote its time and energy to address the hydra headed problems facing Nigerians and not on matters not in consonance with our primary responsibilities,” he had stated.
Since its inauguration, the House has gone into coma. No bills have been sponsored or passed. No convincing policy direction has been given. This is unlike Tambuwal who was able to set a clear agenda for the House within the first 100 days of its inauguration. Unlike in the past, Nigerians have continued to question the justification of the jumbo pay of lawmakers. In many quarters, the views are the same. Many believe that the functions the the current lawmakers perform are not commensurate with the huge pay they take home.
Nigerians are also angry that in the midst of the raging Boko Haram war that consumes a large chunk of our national budget, the dwindling oil prices and the global recession, lawmakers seem hesitants to make sacrifices in the form of cutting their salaries, remuneration and allowances. Although most lawmakers are quick to put up a defense, the frequent recesses and the seeming inability of the House to join the current administration’s efforts at repositioning Nigeria have made nonsense of such defence .
Daily Sun spoke to some Nigerians who are familiar with the goings-on in the polity and their take on the performance of the 8th House of Representatives since its inauguration on the 9th of June, 2015. The respondents unanimously agreed that the lawmakers were yet to live up to expectations. They also gave some damming verdict and how the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari might run into troubled waters with the House in the months to come.
Soni Daniel is the regional editor of Vanguard Newspaper in Abuja. During his chat with our correspondent, Mr. Daniel questioned the frequent breaks embarked upon by members of the House. He frowned at the inability of the House to initiate or debate any bill since its inauguration. He concluded that they were only there to collect jumbo pay.
He said: “This current National Assembly has nothing to offer. They have not achieved anything . Unless for the fighting and the unnecessary recess they keep embarking on. They have not passed any bill or debated any motion. All we have seen are people who are just there to collect jumbo pay and they cannot justify what they are earning.
“I think Nigerians should put pressure on their lawmakers. That is the only way they will perform. I also foresee a very hard time awaiting the executive because of the frosty relationship between the National Assembly and the presidency. The Senate president and the Speaker emerged against the wishes of their party leaders. They were behaving as if they were above party supremacy.
“Even after their emergence, they refused to listen to the party in the selection of other principal officers of the two chambers. We also saw how the Senate president and the Speaker connived with the PDP just to fulfill their selfish ambitions. So, tell me what anyone should expect from people like that?” Christian Okeke, a public affairs analyst and a student of international politics, agreed with Soni Daniel’s position. Okeke said he had expected that the House would immediately hit the ground running. He regretted that instead, they have embarked on vacation in the midst of national challenges. Okeke however pleaded with Nigerians to be patient with the House, with the hope that they will do the needful in the months to come.
Hear him “Assessing the current House of Representatives in just 100 days is difficult, unfair and irrational. I am sure that the House will not even want to assess itself and if it tries to, it will certainly struggle to script whatever it may say it has been able to do. As a matter of fact, the constituents will not even bother to assess their representatives yet. What will they assess for?
“Let us not forget that this is a House that went on recess immediately after its inauguration. In fact, afterwards and when it was supposed to have commenced serious business, the House was engulfed in high-wire imbroglio over leadership. Unfortunate crisis erupted over whether Speaker Yakubu Dogara was right or wrong to have emerged, what will Gbajabiamila get, what will this one and that get and nobody was moving motions, sponsoring bills and all of that.
“I would personally have expected that my representative at the House would have since moved a motion for Federal Government to probe the failed contract for rehabilitation of Okigwe-Arondizuogu-Akokwa road, for instance. But how do I do that when, perhaps, the man is joining his colleagues to struggle for committee chairmanship and membership, and asking for allowance.
“For me, I will urge fellow citizens to have patience with the National Assembly for a number of reasons. I think the crisis that engulfed it immediately after the inauguration was not anticipated and it shook the very foundation of their assignment. And to the House, whereas people may not assess them now, the members should not forget that they will ultimately give accounts of their stewardship and that another election will come in a matter of time”.
Olayinka Yusuf, another commentator did not differ from the rest. In his views, the first 100 days of the House were chaotic and therefore urged Nigerians to be patient with the lawmakers. He said from the recent happenings, it was obvious that the lawmakers may have put their differences aside in the interest of peace.
“At first, the developments in the National Assembly were worrisome. Now we are talking about the first 100 days in office during which they recorded serious leadership tussles. I think they have begun to settle down for serious business. Most of the representatives from different constituencies have fashioned out tentative medium to settle their party differences which might have cropped up at the moment when the Speakership was to be decided.
“However, it would be too early to criticize the House of Representatives members judging by the little time spent in office. One would understand that the country herself is just settling down through transition and lawmakers who are obviously geared to deliver even more than how it used to be,” Yusuf noted.
In the coming weeks, more fireworks are expected on the floor of the House. With the return of the Speaker, Dogara from his temporal exile in the United States of America in order to avoid lawmakers lobbying for juicy committees, more activities are expected in the lower chamber. Lawmakers who have been away are expected to return and continue their intense lobby.
Between June and August,the media and the political turf were awash with some ignoble moves and developments in the chamber. Nigerians were sharply divided on the performance of President Buhari in his first 100 days in office. While his hard critics scored the president low, his supporters, especially from the north expressed contrary views. But in all fairness, there was a general consensus that the president was on the right track. Many things were attributed to him, ranging from the improved power supply to the gradual dislodgement of Boko Haram the Northeast.
But in the case of the House of Representatives, many Nigerians appear to share the same sentiments on the performance of the lawmakers. The emergence of Mr. Yakubu Dogara as Speaker of the House, against the wish of key members of his party , many believe, has contributed to the chaos that almost crippled the business of lawmaking at the lower chamber of the National Assembly.
Although feuding parties who played key roles in the standoff are resting now , some signs are springing up that suggest they may soon return to the trenches. This time around it about committee constitution. Nigerians who are the biggest casualties of the game of thrones are yet to feel the impact of the House. For three months, television screens have been awashed with political interplay and how some geopolitical zones have been completely left in the cold in the scheme of things.
National newspapers are not exempted from the rhetorics. For months, members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the House refused to shift grounds and their allegiance in the interest of the country. For some political observers, it was a battle of supremacy between the core north and the Southwest. The observers believe that though the physical war maybe over, the fragile trust and political relationships that had existed between the two regional power blocs are in tatters. The series of chaos that have enveloped the House started weeks before its inauguration. Like what played out in 2011 when Aminu Tambuwal joined forces with members of the opposition against his then party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to jettison the zoning arrangements, Dogara adopted the same tactic. He resisted every pressure to sacrifice his personal ambition and accept the position of the Deputy Speaker. He blatantly rejected the offer.
Like Tambuwal in 2014, he eventually defeated the preferred candidate of the party, Femi Gbajabiamila by a slim margin . Since his emergence as Speaker, the lower chamber of the National Assembly has not known peace. Determined to add fuel to burning fire, Dogara again rejected his party’s position on the appointment of other principal officers of the House. This led to a divided House and like a Banana Republic and reminiscent of Dimeji Bankole’s days as Speaker, lawmakers were engaged in fisticuffs.
The fighting came barely 17 days after its inauguration. Nigerians were particularly outraged when news filtered into the air that some school children were at the gallery when the show of shame ensued on the floor of the Green Chamber. Former minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili had lambasted Dogara over his failure to nip the problem in the bud. She had also accused the Speaker of setting a bad precedence in the presence of the school children who witnessed the brawl.
“What message do you think those children took away from you and your colleagues? Sadly, they will never forget today. How many of you agree that members of House of Representatives owe those children who had to watch their embarrassing brawl a big apology? Fighting/wrestling in the sanctum of democracy just makes a mockery of democratic ethos of disagreeing without being disagreeable. No progressive society in the league of those our lawmakers like to visit got their status without discipline,” she said.
Shamed by the outcry from Nigerians, the House issued an apology which failed in remedying the colossal damage that had been caused by the public display of shame. The chairman of House adhoc committee on Media, Mr. Sani Zorro addressed a press conference where he said, “The House wishes to state that the action of these Members is regrettable and not in consonance with the objectives of the 8th Assembly as the House was set to continue deliberation on its Legislative Agenda, and other matters that directly affect the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians. The House therefore sincerely apologizes to Nigerians for the ugly events of today.
“We reiterate the admonition of the Hon. Speaker, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, that the 8th House in fulfillment of its electoral mandate shall devote its time and energy to address the hydra headed problems facing Nigerians and not on matters not in consonance with our primary responsibilities,” he had stated.
Since its inauguration, the House has gone into coma. No bills have been sponsored or passed. No convincing policy direction has been given. This is unlike Tambuwal who was able to set a clear agenda for the House within the first 100 days of its inauguration. Unlike in the past, Nigerians have continued to question the justification of the jumbo pay of lawmakers. In many quarters, the views are the same. Many believe that the functions the the current lawmakers perform are not commensurate with the huge pay they take home.
Nigerians are also angry that in the midst of the raging Boko Haram war that consumes a large chunk of our national budget, the dwindling oil prices and the global recession, lawmakers seem hesitants to make sacrifices in the form of cutting their salaries, remuneration and allowances. Although most lawmakers are quick to put up a defense, the frequent recesses and the seeming inability of the House to join the current administration’s efforts at repositioning Nigeria have made nonsense of such defence .
Daily Sun spoke to some Nigerians who are familiar with the goings-on in the polity and their take on the performance of the 8th House of Representatives since its inauguration on the 9th of June, 2015. The respondents unanimously agreed that the lawmakers were yet to live up to expectations. They also gave some damming verdict and how the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari might run into troubled waters with the House in the months to come.
Soni Daniel is the regional editor of Vanguard Newspaper in Abuja. During his chat with our correspondent, Mr. Daniel questioned the frequent breaks embarked upon by members of the House. He frowned at the inability of the House to initiate or debate any bill since its inauguration. He concluded that they were only there to collect jumbo pay.
He said: “This current National Assembly has nothing to offer. They have not achieved anything . Unless for the fighting and the unnecessary recess they keep embarking on. They have not passed any bill or debated any motion. All we have seen are people who are just there to collect jumbo pay and they cannot justify what they are earning.
“I think Nigerians should put pressure on their lawmakers. That is the only way they will perform. I also foresee a very hard time awaiting the executive because of the frosty relationship between the National Assembly and the presidency. The Senate president and the Speaker emerged against the wishes of their party leaders. They were behaving as if they were above party supremacy.
“Even after their emergence, they refused to listen to the party in the selection of other principal officers of the two chambers. We also saw how the Senate president and the Speaker connived with the PDP just to fulfill their selfish ambitions. So, tell me what anyone should expect from people like that?” Christian Okeke, a public affairs analyst and a student of international politics, agreed with Soni Daniel’s position. Okeke said he had expected that the House would immediately hit the ground running. He regretted that instead, they have embarked on vacation in the midst of national challenges. Okeke however pleaded with Nigerians to be patient with the House, with the hope that they will do the needful in the months to come.
Hear him “Assessing the current House of Representatives in just 100 days is difficult, unfair and irrational. I am sure that the House will not even want to assess itself and if it tries to, it will certainly struggle to script whatever it may say it has been able to do. As a matter of fact, the constituents will not even bother to assess their representatives yet. What will they assess for?
“Let us not forget that this is a House that went on recess immediately after its inauguration. In fact, afterwards and when it was supposed to have commenced serious business, the House was engulfed in high-wire imbroglio over leadership. Unfortunate crisis erupted over whether Speaker Yakubu Dogara was right or wrong to have emerged, what will Gbajabiamila get, what will this one and that get and nobody was moving motions, sponsoring bills and all of that.
“I would personally have expected that my representative at the House would have since moved a motion for Federal Government to probe the failed contract for rehabilitation of Okigwe-Arondizuogu-Akokwa road, for instance. But how do I do that when, perhaps, the man is joining his colleagues to struggle for committee chairmanship and membership, and asking for allowance.
“For me, I will urge fellow citizens to have patience with the National Assembly for a number of reasons. I think the crisis that engulfed it immediately after the inauguration was not anticipated and it shook the very foundation of their assignment. And to the House, whereas people may not assess them now, the members should not forget that they will ultimately give accounts of their stewardship and that another election will come in a matter of time”.
Olayinka Yusuf, another commentator did not differ from the rest. In his views, the first 100 days of the House were chaotic and therefore urged Nigerians to be patient with the lawmakers. He said from the recent happenings, it was obvious that the lawmakers may have put their differences aside in the interest of peace.
“At first, the developments in the National Assembly were worrisome. Now we are talking about the first 100 days in office during which they recorded serious leadership tussles. I think they have begun to settle down for serious business. Most of the representatives from different constituencies have fashioned out tentative medium to settle their party differences which might have cropped up at the moment when the Speakership was to be decided.
“However, it would be too early to criticize the House of Representatives members judging by the little time spent in office. One would understand that the country herself is just settling down through transition and lawmakers who are obviously geared to deliver even more than how it used to be,” Yusuf noted.
In the coming weeks, more fireworks are expected on the floor of the House. With the return of the Speaker, Dogara from his temporal exile in the United States of America in order to avoid lawmakers lobbying for juicy committees, more activities are expected in the lower chamber. Lawmakers who have been away are expected to return and continue their intense lobby.
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