Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

All eyes are on the House of Representatives, as the National Assembly resumes plenary for 2018.  More than any other year, Nigerians are expecting so much from the lawmakers this year. The reason for these heightened expectations is not far-fetched- this is election year. And the administration will be three in May.

 Although the tenure of the current session of the House of Representatives will elapse in June next year; practically this is the last year for real governance.

At the inauguration of the House in 2015, the leadership enunciated a legislative agenda to guide its conduct in its four year tenure. Key issues in the agenda which succinctly captures the vision of the 8th House include:  strengthening its oversight duties and investigations, electronic voting, legislative initiatives on employment and job creation.

The House also listed its legislative priorities to include: legislations focused on reducing hunger, achieving universal primary education, security, diversification of the economy etc.

However, two and half years into the tenure, analysts say not much success has been recorded in the actualisation of the agenda, the Green Chamber set for itself. Consequently, not a few say that the House should use this year to deliver the much talked about “dividends of democracy”, that is becoming very elusive.

Ironically, 2018 will be characterised by a lot of politicking as lawmakers and other politicians will be more concerned about the next election, more than any other thing. Although the next general election is scheduled for the first quarter of next year, most of the politicking would take place this year.

Already, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the timetable for the 2019 general. According to the timetable, party primaries for the various elections   would begin on August 18 and end on October 7, 2018, while that of the FCT Area Council Elections will commence on September 4 and end on October 27, 2018.

There is no doubt that this is a strategic year for the lawmakers, just as it is for the country. Therefore, for the House whatever it fails to actualise in 2018, is likely not going to be achieved in the 8th House. The implication is that more than any other year, the House is expected to work very hard in addressing many nagging problems confronting the nation; it is also expected to act with the speed of lightening.

Analysts say in the real sense, the House has between now and June to achieve all it may want to achieve this year. There are fears that from June when the campaigns for primary elections would have started in earnest, only very few legislators would bother about their legislative duties.

The House is seemingly not oblivious of the task ahead of it. Prior to the resumption of the House for the New Year, Chairman House committee on Media and Publicity, Abdulrasak Namdas told Daily Sun that the House would be concentrating on security issues, amendments of the Electoral Act, investigation into the utilisation of the Internally Generated Revenue( IGR) of Federal Medical Centres(FMCs) and other issues.

The House seem to have started the year on a very positive note, as it recently passed the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and the amendment of the 2010 Electoral Act into law.

However, besides these issues, analysts say there are also other burning issues the House must address squarely in 2018. Among these issues are the restructuring of the polity, security and the completion of many of the investigations it had embarked upon since the inception of this administration.

Oversight duties

Many Nigerians expect the House to step up in the discharge of its oversight functions.  A school of thought says most the failings of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is attributable to the failure of oversight on the part of the legislature. For instance, there have been a lot of indignation by members of the public about the abysmal performance of the budget since the inception of the present administration. 

Analysts say the House, just like the executive arm of government is responsible for the failures of successive budgets since the inception of the present administration. Pundits are quick to blame the lawmakers for failing to discharge their oversight.

Apart from critical stakeholders, the lawmakers too believe that they have performed poorly in the area of oversight. Speaking during the debate on the general principles of the 2018 budget, Mohammed Tahir Monguno admitted that the lower chamber has not done well in the area of oversight. The lawmaker stated that there is need for the federal legislature to confront the executive on the issue of full implementation of the budget.

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 The Borno-born lawmaker, who cited newspaper publication which quoted the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), as saying the country has exceeded the 2017 oil benchmark by 18percent, wondered why the 2017 budget was poorly implemented.

According to Monguno, “we should take the bulls by the horns and face the executive on the issue of budget implementation.  Some of the agency my committee is over sighting only got 10 per cent of their votes.

“We should perform our oversight sight function as given to us by the constitution.  There is need as a legislature to engage the executive.”

There are also calls in certain quarters for the House and indeed the National Assembly to quickly pass the 2018 budget and also ensure that the budget addresses the concerns of Nigerians.

According to another lawmaker, Bashir Babale, there is a clarion call by Nigerians for the House to do the needful, especially in the area of scrutinising the budget.

“We  have till 2019 to deliver the promises we made to Nigerians. So this budget and 2019 budget is the only hope we have. We need to shine a microscopic light on the budget”, he added.

On his part, former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe told Daily Sun that the House “must pass the budget quickly. In the budget, they should include a fund for research.”

Restructuring

Another area where several persons are looking unto the Green Chamber to take a decisive action is on the agitation for the restructuring of the country. Spokesman of Pan Yoruba group, Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, said the House must ensure that it amends the 1999 constitution to ensure that there is true federalism in the country.

“The country is falling into pieces. They cannot afford to fold their arms. They have to make sure there is true federalism in the country. Most of the problems in the country is as a result of the current structure, “he  told Daily Sun.

Recall that in the aftermath of the constitution review exercise in the Green Chamber, the House had adopted a motion sponsored by the Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, calling on it to take a second look at the Power Devolution Bill. The decision of the House to throw out the bill was roundly condemned by Nigerians.

However, Namdas said the House is not oppossed to the restructuring of the country. According to him, the House is waiting for a special committee it set up on the issue to report back, before it knows the next step to take in that regard.

Security

Analysts say they expect that the House to focus serious attention on the security situation in the country. Apart from killings by rampaging herdsmen across country, there are issues of kidnapping and other violent crimes, all of which they noted pose big challenge to Nigeria and Nigerians.

As part of efforts to address security issues in the country, the Green Chamber last year held an executive session with minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau (retd), the minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, Chief of Defence Staff, Maj. Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin and the Inspector -General of Police, Ibrahim Idris .  Besides, the House also adopted several motions last year calling on security agencies to apprehend those behind these crimes and to take action to enhance security in the country.

However, despite these measures, there have not been any substantial improvements in the security situation in the country. Therefore, not a few expect the lower chamber to redouble its efforts in taking legislative action to curb the spate of insecurity in the country. Apart from passing motions, it must insist that such motions are complied with. But in situations where House resolutions are treated with impunity, the Green Chamber must not shy away from recommending sanctions.

The year 2018 no doubt is going to be a very challenging year for the House, the challenges, notwithstanding, the year presents an opportunity for the Green Chamber  to redeem its promise to the electorate.