Policy Analyst, Habib Sheidu, has said allegations by Jigawa State House of Representatives menber that lawmakers pay to get their bills passed is serious.
Seidu, Project director at AdvoKC Foundation, said although Nigerians always see the legislature as a part of the executive, this allegation seems worse. If bills are passed through financial inducement, then the House is trading representation for transactions.
“We will know if the House is truly committed to democracy or nothing more than a robber stamp by how it handles the probe. This will tell us if we have a legislature working for us or one trading away our future,” he said.
Read Also: First Lady seeks mass participation in Measles-Rubella vaccination
He added: “The 10th House of Representatives entered office in 2023 with bold commitments through its Legislative Agenda. These promises, if kept, could reshape Nigeria’s future. Among them was a pledge to amend the Universal Basic Education Commission Act to increase UBEC’s allocation from two per cent to four per cent. That change would have doubled resources available to provide classrooms, teaching materials, and teacher recruitment… Two years later, the promise remains unkept.
“The House also committed to amending the National Health Act to raise Basic Health Care Provision Fund from one per cent to two percent. Nigerians bear the burden of one of the highest out-of-pocket health expenditure, while hospitals are starved of drugs, equipment, and staff. A doubling of this could change the story by bringing life-saving resources to our primary health facilities. Instead, the silence on this promise has left citizens waiting in vain.
“Oversight, one of the most sacred duties of a legislature, has fared no better. The House promised to pass legislation enforcing penalties for those who ignore legislative summons. Yet this year, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and officials of his ministry snubbed three separate invitations to answer questions about a ₦2.5 million job racketeering allegation. Their defiance made clear what many Nigerians already knew: legislative summons in Nigeria are mere pieces of paper, toothless threats that powerful officials can easily dismiss because no law gives them bite.
“The House also promised to pass the Electronic Surveillance and Communications Privacy Bill to shield citizens from unlawful wiretaps and misuse of electronic data. In an age of rampant surveillance and weak protections for privacy, this was no small commitment. It was a chance to protect rights, secure freedoms, and build trust in the digital age. Yet the bill continues to languish without meaningful attention.
“Even in something as simple as updating its own systems, the House has fallen short. It vowed to develop a dynamic and interactive website to engage the public and make its activities transparent. But today, the official website still lists Ugonna Ozurigbo as a member, long after a court removed him from office. For almost a month now, the entire website has been down, making it impossible to access House budgets, reports, or performance records. This means that the promise to mandate the publication of sessional and annual reports detailing House activities, budgets, and outcomes, a medium-term pledge, stands broken. If the House cannot keep its own records accurate or even keep its website running, how can it persuade Nigerians that it is ready to modernise transparency?”
Habi Seidu called on the House of Representatives to sit up to its responsibilities as it resumes plenary on October 7, 2025.
“That date must be more than a return from recess. It must be a moment of reckoning. The question before the 10th House is simple. Will it keep faith with Nigerians by fulfilling its promises to improve education, health, oversight, privacy, electoral democracy, and transparency? Or will it continue as a rubber stamp, obedient to the executive, and worse still as a robber stamp, treating legislation as a commodity and betraying citizens for gain?”
He called on The House not take Nigerians for granted. He also reminded The House that, “Across West Africa, our neighbours are steadily losing their democracies to coups and authoritarian takeovers. The recent turmoil in Nepal reminds us of what poor governance, unchecked corruption, and weak institutions can lead to. Nigeria does not have to follow that path but only if governance is taken seriously, especially in matters that directly affect the people.
“The House still has time to be born again as the people’s House. To turn its Legislative Agenda from paper into reality. To prove that Nigerian democracy can have a legislature that defends the Constitution, protects the vulnerable, and holds power accountable. Anything less is a theft of trust and a mockery of democracy itself.” Seidu added.