On December 19, the 10th House of Representatives rounded off its legislative activities for the year and adjourned to January 14, 2025 to enable lawmakers observe the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The House of Representatives under the leadership of Speaker Abbas Tajudeen in the course of the year, engaged in a number of legislative activities aimed at deepening democracy, enhancing legislations and engendering good governance in the country. Weekend Trust in this piece highlights some of the high and low moments that shaped the Green Chamber in 2024.
Beginning the year’s journey
Legislative activities in the House of Representatives for the year began on January 30, 2024 after the lawmakers reconvened from their Christmas and New Year holidays.
Setting to the tone for the year, Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas said the focus of the House was to ensure it achieves significant mileage towards actualising the targets across the eight thematic areas of its Legislative Agenda.
He said the legislative priority for the year will, among others, focus on strengthening security architecture to improve overall effectiveness through improved oversight of the sector; speedy consideration of electoral reforms, alteration of the 1999 Constitution, improved citizens’ engagements, enhanced oversight, institutional capacity strengthening, and greater collaboration with the executive arm.
House ‘Legislative Open Week’
One of the major activities that shaped the 10th House was the ‘Legislative Open Week’ convened by the Green Chamber. The event which was held between July 3 and 5, 2024 provided avenues for citizens to directly engage with the legislative process, provide input on policy decisions, and hold their representatives accountable in line with item 5 of the House’s Legislative Agenda.
Speaking at the event which was first of its kind, the Speaker said, the open week was “a significant step towards strengthening our democracy by enhancing citizens participation in the legislative process.”
House’s one year scorecard
Another major highlight of the 10th House in 2024 was the presentation of the Green Chamber’s one year score card by the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen on July 3.
The highlight of the one year scorecard of the 10th House showed that a total of 1,351 bills had been introduced, the highest number in any first session since 1999. Of these, 89 have been passed into law while others are at various stages in the legislative process.
Among the notable bills were those addressing critical sectors of the economy, governance, and social development.
The House also considered 679 motions, most of which were referred to standing committees for action. Out of 240 petitions received, 40 cases were resolved, and 10 were presented to the House for further deliberation.
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Constitution review engagements/dialogues
The 10th House is undertaking a constitution review exercise and this forms one of the major highlights of the Green Chamber’s activities in the year under review. The constitution amendment review committee chaired by the Deputy, Benjamin Okezie Kalu has held a lot of engagements and dialogues with key stakeholders across the country including governors, state assembly legislators, youth groups, women groups and civil society organisations, among others. No fewer than 305 memoranda and 112 bills have so far been submitted to the Committee on Constitution Review. The Constitution Review Committee which was inaugurated on February 24, 2024, has set December 2025 as timeline to conclude the constitution review exercise.
Push for diaspora voting, independent candidacy, special seats for women, and constitutional roles for traditional rulers
The 10th House in the course of the year witnessed the introduction of some critical bills which include bills on diaspora voting, independent candidacy, special seats for women and people with disabilities introduced in the House of Representatives in the course of the year. The House is also pushing for legislation that will give constitutional roles to traditional rulers to enhance their effectiveness.
While the bill on diaspora voting was sponsored by the Speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, the one on special seats for women was sponsored by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Okezie Kalu. The bill on independent candidacy was sponsored by the House spokesman, Akin Rotimi.
Sectoral Briefing/Debate
The House also held sectoral debates for heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as part of efforts to hold them accountable.
The sectoral debates/dialogue are part of a periodic policy brief series introduced by the House which commenced in November 2023 with heads of security agencies.
Among those that have appeared on the sectoral debates include the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu and Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso.
House’s walk against gender violence
On November 24, 2024, the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen led members of the House in company of women rights groups on an advocacy march against gender-based violence.The march, which commenced from the National Assembly to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) headquarters, was part of activities to commemorate the 2024 International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Speaking during the march, Abbas described violence against women as an “unacceptable and unforgivable trend”. This was also one of the major events that shaped the Green Chamber in the outgoing year.
Tax Reform Bills controversies
Another major issue that dominated and still dominates the Green Chamber in the outgone year is the tax reform bills sent to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The tax reform bills which have faced opposition from mostly the lawmakers from the North led to a rowdy session when the matter came up at one of the executive sessions convened by the leadership of the House. The development forced the leadership of the House to suspend further action on the contentious legislations till date. Also, an attempt by the spokesman of the House, Akin Rotimi, to speak in support of the bills during one of the plenary sittings also sparked another round of row, with the Speaker rising to occasion to calm fray nerves. It is still not clear what will be the fate of the bills when the lawmakers return from their recess in January.
Engagements with youths
The House in the course of the year had a number of engagements with young people as part of strategies to carry them along in the legislative process.
Speaking at one of the youth town halls in Abuja, the Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen said, the initiative highlights the vital role the voice of young people play in shaping the future of the nation. In September 2024, the Speaker organised a training programme for some selected youths under the Legislative Mentorship Initiative (LMI) of the House.
Rep Ikwechegh’s infamous assault of bolt driver
One low point for the House in 2024 was a case of an assault involving its member, Alex Ikwechegh from Abia State.
Ikwechegh was seen in a viral video assaulting a bolt driver, Stephen Abuwatseya, who was to deliver a package to him at his Abuja residence for reportedly disrespecting him (Ikwechegh).
The assault sparked outrage and condemnations, leading to the arrest and arraignment of the lawmaker. Ikwechegh later apologised over his action, while the House asked the Committee on Ethics and Privileges to probe him.
Defections and deaths
Within the year, there was a hurricane of defections from some opposition political parties particularly, LP, PDP and ADC to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Among those that defected the LP lawmakers that defected to the APC include Tochukwu Chinedu Okere (Imo), Donatus Matthew (Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Cross River), Esosa Iyawe (Edo), Alfred Illiya Ajang (Plateau) and Dalyop Chollom (Plateau). Others that defected to the APC include, Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu(Delta, PDP), Suleiman Gumi (Zamfara, PDP) and Salman Idris (Kogi, ADC).
On a sad note, the House recorded the deaths of three members this year, namely, Abubakar Adams (Kaduna), Isa Dogonyaro (Jigawa) and Adewale Akinremi (Oyo).
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