The Eight Senate will mark its mid-term on June 9, having been controversially inaugurated on June 9, 2015.
Two years in the life of a four-year tenured Assembly is half time; enough time to evaluate the trajectory and performance of the highest lawmaking body.
In the field of soccer, half time is not only a period to rest awhile, it is also a period to look back at the performance of the team, a period to amend one or two pattern of play, and a period to consolidate to excel and surpass in the field of play.
A semblance of peace seems to have returned to the upper chamber after a troubling turbulent start on June 9, 2015.
The emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki and Senator Ike Ekweremadu as Senate President and Deputy Senate President against the directive of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) threw the chamber into a revolting melt- down.
Smooth legislative activity became the first casualty. Personal interest soared. Senators appeared oblivious of the world around them. Intrigue, scheming, wily and tricks became the rule rather than the exception in the chamber. Interest groups were formed and disbanded. Clandestine meetings and plots took the shine off legislative duties. It appeared everybody was for himself; nobody for the country.
Like a group of spoilt children unmindful of the expectations of their parents, the lawmakers laboured to outwit and undo one another.
The simmering leadership tussle in the chamber reverberated far beyond the shores of the Senate.
Stakeholders were concerned that the country’s renascent democracy may be harmed. Distraught Nigerians felt cheated by those they gave their votes to represent them at the highest legislative assembly of the country.
The seeming foot- dragging of President Muhammadu Buhari to step in when it mattered most did not help matters. The senate boiled. A series of attempts by concerned interests within and outside the chamber to broker peace failed. Legislation continued to suffer giving rise to the accusation of insensitivity against the lawmakers. Something was bound to give way, some thought.
It may appear the dark days of the Eight Senate have been consigned to history. Saraki seems to have pacified and won over his troublers. The shrewd Kwara central lawmaker seems to have stabilised the senate and lined his colleagues behind him.
The prevailing peace in the Senate did not come easily. Compromises and trade-off were made. Rejiging of committees to accommodate some arrow-heads of the ‘Saraki must-go’ instigators were hurriedly consummated. Some appointments which seemed to have been in line with the party mandate were made. First, boisterous Senator Kabiru Marafa, who carried the unenviable challenge of openly pushing for regime change in the Senate, was named chairman, committee on petroleum (downstream). With the appointment, Marafa literarily recoiled to his shield apparently to enjoy the fruit of his ‘hard labour.’
The biggest loser in the political chess game was Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume who lost his plum position of senate leader to Senator Ahmed Lawan. Ndume was not only axed as senate leader, he suffered the indignity of being sent on suspension over allegation of failure to conduct due diligence in the matter of the purchase of exotic car for Saraki and certificate scandal of Senator Dino Melaye.
Senator Samuel Anyanwu’s committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions blamed Ndume for not conducting due diligence before drawing attention of the Senate to the trending issue of purchase of a treated Range Rover.
Ndume, who was handed a six-month suspension, cried blue murder. The Borno South cerebral lawmaker had tagged his ouster as senate leader as a legislative coup. He warned others, especially Ekweremadu, to watch their backs. Ndume put a spirited fight to save himself when he was dragged to the Ethics Committee. He told the committee he meant no harm to the duo of Saraki and Melaye. Ndume’s plea that he was merely drawing attention to issues that could tarnish the image of the Senate if left unclarified, did not convince the committee. When the hammer of suspension fell, the first of its kind in the Eighth Senate, Ndume was speechless. He has been stoic in his dealings ever since, savouring the bitter taste of suspension.
Although the executive arm of government laboured not to be dragged into the Senate brawl when it lasted, recent events appeared to show that all may not be well between the two arms.
It is rather curious that a government that controls near absolute majority in the Senate fails to pull through its requests more often than not.
Indication of some crack between the Executive and the legislature started with the controversial rejection of the confirmation of Ibrahim Magu as substantive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The celebrated altercation between the upper chamber and the Comptroller-General, Nigerian Customs Service, Hameed Ali, followed in quick succession. The investigation of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal, was no less notable.
While the senate turned down the confirmation of Magu for the EFCC top job due to unfavourable security report by the Department of State Services, the upper chamber sent the Customs boss packing from its chamber for refusing to wear Customs uniform as directed by it.
The retired army colonel was invited to explain Custom’s unpopular plan to check customs papers of old vehicles in the country. Like the ‘Ali Must Go’ of April 1978, Ali remained defiant damning the Senate to go to hell with its order for him to wear Customs uniform.
The probe of the SGF over abuse of office for allegedly awarding mouth watering contracts to a company he has interest in under the Presidential Initiative for the Northeast (PINE), was another in the line of show of strength.
The Senate did not only adopt the recommendation of its ad-hoc committee on mounting humanitarian crisis in the Northeast, it went ahead to resolve that Lawal should be relieved of his office as SGF and prosecuted. Lawal felt scandalised and fired back by telling the lawmaker that they were talking ‘balderdash.’ The SGF also accused the Senate of unfair treatment by not giving him opportunity to defend himself. Not to be outdone in its game, the senate mandated its ad-hoc committee to re-invite Lawal for questioning. Again, the SGF failed to honour the invitation. The Senator Shehu Sani led ad-hoc committee reaffirmed its recommendation that Lawal abused his office through the award of contracts. Senate concurred.
In line with the senate resolution, Lawal was suspended to enable a Presidential panel of enquiry headed by no less a personality than the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, to valuate the Senate resolutions. Observers believe that the Senate may have had its way on some of the issues, the Presidency will extract its pound of flesh at the appropriate time.
One contentious issue that has dogged the Eight Senate and indeed the National Assembly is undue delay in passing the budget.
The 2016 budget was almost truncated by intense rivalry between the executive and the legislature. The problem with the 2016 budget erupted when it was unceremoniously declared ‘missing.’ When the fiscal document was eventually ‘found,’ the allegation of padding crept in. The padding allegation consumed the chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumini Jibrin. The Kano State lawmaker was suspended for spearheading the padding and sundry allegations.
The 2017 budget, on the other hand, took the two chambers almost six months to pass. The disclosure of details of National Assembly budget may be considered one major land mark achievement of the Eighth National Assembly. The leadership of the National Assembly, until this time around, has shunned agitations that it open up details of its budget. It is to Saraki’s credit that he has consistently promised to release details of the budget. When Saraki threw open the budget last week, it marked the first time since the country’s return to democracy that details of National Assembly budget is opened for the rest of Nigerians to see.
Perhaps, civil society groups who were at the forefront of the campaign for open National Assembly budget should savour greater percentage of the credit for the budgetary milestone. One thing is still outstanding though. Full disclosure should be full disclosure.
It ought necessarily to include the take home pay of individual lawmakers, allowances not excluded
The Senate appears not to be lacking in passage of bills. In the last two years, it has passed not less than 36 bills. Some economic related bills initiated to grow the economy and lift the country out of poverty were passed.
Some of the passed bills included Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act Cap.B2 LFN 2011 (Repeal and Enactment) Bill 2015; Public Procurement Amendment Act; Nigerian Railway Corporation Act, (Repeal And Re-Enactment) Bill 2015; Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Bill 2015; National Centre For Cancer and Treatment (Est.) Bill; Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun and for Other Related Matters Bill, 2016; Forestry Research Institute Act Bill 2015; Soil Science Nigerian Institute Act Bill 2015; High Court of FCT Amendment Act Bill; Electronic Transactions Bill 2015; National Assembly Budget and Research Office (Establishment) Bill, 2016; JAMB Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016 (SB 245); Food Security Bill, 2016; Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (Est. etc.) Act Bill, 2016; Defence Space Agency (Est. etc.) Act Bill 2016; Federal University, Wukari (Establishment, etc.) Act Bill; Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme Act Bill, 2016; National Institute for Cancer Research & Treatment (Establishment, etc.) Act Bill; North East Development Commission Bill (Establishment, etc.) Act Bill 2016; and the Sexual Harassment in Tertiary Education Institutions Bill 2016.
Other bills are the Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods Act 2004 (SB 55); Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service Bill 2016; National Poverty Alleviation Commission (Est. etc.) 2016; Air force Institute of Technology (Est. etc.) 2016; National Sports Lottery Act, 2005 Amendment Bill; Nigerian Peace Corps (Establishment) Bill; 2016 Appropriation Bill; INEC Amendment Bill; Ports & Harbours Reforms Bill; Credit Bureau Services Bill 2017; Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Bill National Inland Waterways Act CAP N47 LFN Repeal & Re-enactment; 2017 Appropriation Bill; The Nigerian Independent Warehouse Regulatory Agency Act; and the National Sports Commission Establishment Bill and the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIBG), which the chamber has just passed. Yet,Nigerians are still awaiting other land-mark bills that would change their lives for the better.
It may not be a bad outing for the Senate, so far. It may do well to focus more on people-oriented bills and be more stringent in its oversight responsibilities to track appropriated funds. That way, the upper chamber may yet redeem its image that continues to hang in the balance.
