By Musa Abdullahi Krishi and Ibrahim Kabiru Sule
When members of the House of Representatives began their legislative business in January, 2014, hopes were high that the lower chamber would pitch its tent with the Nigerian people and produce quality legislation for the country. But they seemed to have squandered those chances along the way chasing personal interests.
The year 2014 would go down in history as one full of activities in the lower chamber, which did not translate into anything meaningful in the eyes of many Nigerians.
The lawmakers began the year with a carryover of sorts from the previous year, 2013. Since the defection of 37 members of the House from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on December 18, 2013, jumping ship from one political party to the other continued in the coming year of 2014, which heightened on October 28 when Speaker of the House Aminu Waziri Tambuwal defected from the ruling party to the opposition party.
But before Tambuwal's defection, many other notable members of the House defected from one political party to the other. In fact, defection became so rampant in the lower chamber that at almost every sitting, lawmakers, journalists and other observers would keep their fingers crossed waiting for an announcement on cross carpeting.
Notable among the lawmakers that defected from one party to the other were Reps Mohammed Isa Ashiru (PDP to APC, Kaduna); Yahaya Kwande (DPP to APC, Plateau); Jagaba Adams Jagaba (PDP to APC, Kaduna); Sabo Nakudu (PDP to APC, Jigawa); Tunde Ogundara, Adeyemi Adekunle, Olumide Babatunde Osoba, Abiodun Balogun and Taofeek Braimoh (APC to SDP, Ogun).
Others are Ganama Titsi, Haske Francis Hananiya (APC to PDP, Adamawa); Abdulrahman Terab, Peter Biye (APC to PDP, Borno); Bashir Galadanchi (PDP to APC, Kano); Aisha Dahiru Ahmed (PDP to PDM, Adamawa); Ali Yakubu Mainasara (PDP to APC, Yobe) among many others.
In some cases, the issue brought frequent clashes between leaders of the PDP and APC in the House notably Deputy House Leader Leo Ogor and Minority Leader Femi Gbajabiamila. At some point, the leader of the opposition referred to the deputy leader as 'deputy minority leader,' a development that brought serious disagreement between the duo and by extension other members from the two camps.
However, the defection that shook not only the National Assembly but the entire country was that of Tambuwal, who had carefully and tactically waited until October 28 to announce his decision, saying it was based on the crisis in the Sokoto State chapter of the PDP and the relevant provisions of the constitution that allowed him to do so.
Even before then, however, Tambuwal was considered by many as an APC card carrying member going by his words and actions. He had shunned virtually every PDP 'big events' which were usually attended by the who-is-who in the party.
One thing that was obvious in the House in 2014 was the high level of party politics, against their resolve on June 6, 2011 when they were sworn in. On that day, the lawmakers made a solemn pledge to Nigerians to make legislations for the interest of all no matter whose personal interest was at stake.
But last year, members of the lower chamber got themselves enmeshed in partisan politics so much so that a member of one party would only support a motion moved by a fellow party member or vice-versa, however critical or beneficial it is to the Nigerian masses.
As a matter of fact, in some other cases, issues of partisanship nearly brought the proceedings of the lower chamber to a halt. When the issue of $9.3 million smuggled into South Africa by some Nigerians aboard a private jet allegedly to purchase arms but was seized by the authorities in that country came up on September 23, members of the opposition APC, through Deputy Minority Leader Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila, brought the matter on the floor of the House.
However, almost all the PDP members outrightly rejected the matter through a voice vote that was not clear enough. But presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha, gave it to the 'nays,' a situation that forced APC lawmakers to stage a walkout from the floor that day.
They later addressed a press conference where they said they would not allow such a serious issue to be swept under the carpet. The issue became a source of subsequent clashes between the two dominant parties in the lower chamber. There were even allegations of $50,000 bribes given to some members to oppose any attempt to probe the matter in the House, but the whole thing later died a natural death.
The lawmakers equally had chance to put, once and for all, the issue of the much-expected Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to rest last year, but that was not to be. On several occasions, House spokesman Rep Zakari Mohammed (APC, Kwara) gave assurances that report on the bill was ready but that the ad hoc committee on the matter was only 'putting finishing touches.'
The matter has been on since late 2012 when the ad hoc committee was set up, and it went on to conduct public hearings in the six geo-political zones in April 2013.
The report came close to being laid on the floor of the House in October when it was listed for presentation on the Order Paper. But all of a sudden, when chairman of the ad hoc committee and Chief Whip Isiaka Bawa was called upon to present it, he said they discovered some errors in the report that day and requested for some time to make amends. To date, nothing has been heard about it.
Several attempts to get Bawa to speak on the report were not successful as he did not pick calls put to his mobile phone nor replied text messages sent to him then and even this week.
Another issue that brought the rivalry between the PDP and APC to the fore in the lower chamber was the amendment of the Electoral Act, 2010. The bone of contention was the amendment in sections 29 and 31 that sought to empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to request for the deployment of troops in some areas during elections. While APC members were in support of the amendment, PDP lawmakers on the other side were opposed to it. The matter led to serious debates and hot exchanges of words, but the matter scaled through in the end.
Again, when Jonathan requested for the extension of the state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states in June, the lawmakers were sharply divided along party lines. It took weeks before they were able to approve the extension.
The issue of Jonathan's $1 billion loan request to purchase weapons to tackle insurgency in the country equally set the two parties against each other in the lower chamber. In fact, there was serious foot dragging to the extent that the matter took months before the lawmakers agreed to come to terms on the loan.
On October 14, Ogor had raised an alarm that the matter was being delayed by the finance and debts and loans committees which were saddled with the responsibility of looking at the matter. Finance committee chairman Rep Abdulmumin Jibrin was called upon by Tambuwal to explain the delay. He revealed that the loan would be paid back in seven years with N30 billion annually.
One glaring issue during the year 2014 in the House was the frequent and long breaks the lawmakers embarked upon. Apart from their usual Easter, Sallah and annual recess, the lawmakers embarked on another break for about two months, soon after Tambuwal's defection to APC. That break was initially from October 28 to December 3, 2014, which the lower chamber said was to give members time for party primaries. It was later extended to December 16. But many viewed it as a tactical way by Tambuwal and his supporters among the House leadership to evade possible impeachment.
The break became a source of serious disagreement, especially when House Leader Mulikat Akande-Adeola later addressed the press that she was not in the know of what had happened since the House was to go on break alongside the Senate. But it turned out that the Senate did not embark on the break that time.
But the biggest consequence of Tambuwal's defection was the incident of November 20 when detachments of policemen, Department of State Security men and some soldiers were drafted to the National Assembly to mount surveillance obviously to block the speaker from gaining access into the parliament building.
Tambuwal alongside some of his colleagues and retinue of aides arrived at the NASS gate at about 11.am on that day, but the policemen manning the gate locked it immediately they sighted him.
It took several minutes before Tambuwal and some lawmakers with aides got access through the pedestrian gate. But they were teargassed by some policemen just as they approached the popular White House, where the House chamber is located. It later turned out that the emergency extension was put on hold and it then died naturally.
As it is, since Tambuwal's defection on October 28 last year, the House only sat on three occasions - on November 20, for emergency extension and December 16 and 17, to receive the 2015 budget, which was laid by finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Now that members of the Green Chamber have just about five months to go, Nigerians will expect them to do more on what they failed to do previously.
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