10th Reps Process 1,188 Bills, 679 Motions, 300 Petitions

The 10th House of Representatives has beaten records of some previous Assemblies, having received a total of 1, 188 Bills; 679 Motions and about 300 Petitions in one legislative session.

The present 10th House was constituted on June 13, 2023 with the election of Hon. Abbas Tajudeen and Benjamin Kalu as Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively.

The National Assembly is empowered by Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution (as altered) make laws for the stability, peace and progress of the country through instruments such as bills and motions.

Available records of the House performance in the year obtained by LEADERSHIP showed that out of a total of 1, 188 Bills, 243, representing 20.1 percent of the pieces of legislation have passed, 82 (7.0%) of them have passed third (final) reading.

Also, 238, representing 20.0 per cent of the Bills presented, have been referred to Standing Committees and Committees of the Whole for further legislative intervention in line with Order 12, Number 6 of the House Standing Order (as amended).

The records further showed that, of the total number of 1, 188 Bills received, 12 (1.0 %) were executive bills, while 1, 176 (99.0%) were members’ Bills, out of which 9 (11.0%) and 72 (88.0%) have been passed (third reading), respectively.

Analysis of the Bills processed in the first session of the 10th House indicated a performance over previous House of Representatives since 1999.

For instance, the 2023–2024 recorded legislative year recorded 1,188 Bills compared to 14 in 1999–2000, 270 in 2011–2012, 685 in 2015–2016, and 853 in 2019–2020.

The Bills cut across the eight priority areas of the Abbas-led 10th House Legislative Agenda which broached on; strengthening good governance, improving national security, law reform, economic growth and development, social sector reform and development, inclusion and open parliament, influencing, foreign policy, as well as climate change and environmental sustainability.

Some important Bills passed during the first session and assented to by President Bola Tinubu include: Electric Power Sector Reform Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023; Nigeria Hunters and Forest Security Service (Establishment) Bill, 2023; Federal Audit Service Bill, 2023; Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons Bill, 2023.

Others are Armed Forces Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023; National Assembly Library Trust Fund Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024; Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2024; Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances, etc.) Bill, 2024 an Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

Some others are Mandatory Inclusion of Teachings on Breast and Cervical Cancers into the Curriculum of All Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria Bill, 2023; Mandatory Inclusion of Preventive Measures and Teachings on Sexual Gender-Based Violence into the Curriculum of All Levels of Secondary Schools in Nigeria Bill, 2023; Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2023; National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) (Establishment) Bill, 2023; South-East Development Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2023 and National Anthem Bill, 2024.

Also, out of the 679 Motions, 7 were negatived, 22 referred for ad-hoc committees and 651 were referred to standing committees while over 500 motions were resolved to address pressing matters affecting the country.

Furthermore, the 10th House has introduced sectoral debates and briefings to engage with heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to enable lawmakers interact with MDAs and gain a deeper understanding of the specific challenges faced by each sector which so far featured service chiefs and heads of security agencies, Central Bank, Finance and National Planning, Agriculture and Food Security and Customs.

The 10th House also made it compulsory that oversight duties, including investigative hearings, to be concluded with reports and recommendations presented before the entire Chamber for appropriate legislative actions.

It equally established a Committee on Monitoring and Evaluation of House Committees as oversight mechanisms on itself as the panel is mandated to provide an additional layer of scrutiny by evaluating the performance of other committees in carrying out their oversight responsibilities.

This, according to the House, is to foster a culture of diligence and effectiveness in its oversight functions, ultimately contributing to a more efficient and responsive government.

In all, the 10th House constituted 120 Standing Committees, 20 Statutory Committees and 70 Parliamentary Friendship Groups in addition to 30 Ad-hoc Committees earlier established prior to the constitution of standing Committees.

The 10th House also boasts of fostering a harmonious and professional relationship with the Executive branch of the Nigerian government for the efficient functioning of governance, political stability, effective legislation, and the overall health of Nigeria’s democratic system – promoting transparency, accountability, and good governance practices.