The culture of waste in the National Assembly resonates loudest in the plethora of bills that were passed but not assented to law by Mr President. But beyond leaving bills to the whims and caprices of the executive, there is more within the legislative powers to turn bills into laws, if the lawmakers are willing and proactive, AMEH OCHOJILA reports.

As a result of being manifestly subservient to the executive, Nigerian National Assembly lacks the courage to invoke the provisions of the law to override presidential veto when a president declines assent to a bill they laboured so hard to pass.

This development adds to the growing concerns over legislative processes in Nigeria, where large resources are wasted on public interest bills, only to be sent to legislative coolers or waste bins as a result of not being signed by a President for one reason or the other that are sometimes, self-serving.

This development may have also bothered members of the 10th National Assembly as they have started the re-committal of bills passed by the Ninth Assembly, which were not assented to by former President Muhammadu Buhari before the expiration of the tenure of last Assembly.

Section 58 subsections (3) (4) (5) of the 1999 Constitution (as altered) says: “Where a bill has been passed by the House in which it originated, it shall be sent to the other House, and it shall be presented to the President for assent when it has been passed by that other House and agreement has been reached between the two Houses on any amendment made on it.

“Where a bill is presented to the President for assent, he shall within 30 days thereof signify that he assents or that he withholds assent. Where the President withholds his assent and the bill is again passed by two-thirds majority in each House, the bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required.”

Unfortunately, since the return of civil rule in 1999, no National Assembly has ever taken advantage of this provision, as they all buckle under the influence of the “strong man” in Aso Rock and continuously threw their hands in the air, in gleeful resignation.

Observers said that it has become a tradition for the Executive to exit office with significant number of members or Senators bills un-assented, leading to waste of precious legislative hours.

“This practice has amounted to great disservice to Nigerians in the parliamentary years since the restoration of the 4th Republic. It has accomplished little, and it has more or less aided and abetted executive brigandage and reduced public governance to a criminal enterprise as most public interest bills hardly see the light of the day,” observers said.

The Guardian checks showed that the Ninth National Assembly transmitted 35 constitutional amendment bills to former President Muhammadu Buhari for assent but only 16 were signed into law even though they properly underwent legislative process as required by law.

Among the 19 bills not signed by the president include the Fifth Alteration Bill number 24, that sought for an Act to alter the second schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, to empower the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to summon the President and governors to answer questions on issues, which the national and state Houses of Assembly have the powers to make laws.

Alteration bill number 7, which sought for an Act to alter the provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, to compel persons to obey or comply with legislative summons, was also vetoed by the former president.

Other bills that were neither assented to by Buhari nor approved by President Bola Tinubu before the expiration of the preceding Assembly include the Armed Forces Act (Amendment) Bill 2023, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act (Amendment) Bill 2023, ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunition and Other Related Materials (Ratification and Enforcement) Bill 2023, Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences (Amendment) Bill 2023, and Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2023, among others.

The Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Hon. Abubakar Fulata, in the last Assembly, said the immediate past legislators processed 2,232 bills, out of these 52 Executive bills, 163 are bills from the Senate, and 2,017 are members’ bills.

All the executive bills were dispersed without many hurdles but the same appraisal could not be said of public interest bills and bills which are in most cases for strengthening and enhancing transparency in the operations of government.

The then Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, said former President Buhari only gave assent to 104 out of the 162 bills passed to him by the Ninth Senate.

He said: “As of June 10, over 1,129 Bills were presented on the floor of the Senate, and over 500 were successfully passed.”

It is as result of the plethora of unsigned bills from the Ninth Assembly that the present Assembly is processing the re-committing of some of those bills to the executive for reconsideration.

Constitutionally, legislators have a duty to make bills that will set the country on the path of development and progress. The legislators also have constitutional powers to amend any bill they consider opaque or whose provisions no longer fit into the current realities of the nation.

The Executive arm on the other hand has the constitutional duty to ensure these bills become law and are implemented accordingly guided by the constitution for the benefit of the nation.

But this supposed smooth working relationship of the two arms of government has not worked as Presidents fail to carry out their constitutional assignment of signing into law public interest bills that have been passed by the National Assembly.

Records from the office of the Clerk to the National Assembly showed that one of the unsigned bills by the last executive, which are being considered for reconsideration, is the Nigerian Peace Corps Establishment Bill. The bill, which was earlier transmitted to former President Buhari in April this year, was among those not assented to, before he left office on May 29, 2023.

Given the level of insecurity in the country, the House thought it wise to recommit the bill for enhancement of security in the country through provision of jobs for youth and neighbourhood security provision.

Others listed for re-committal include the Armed Forces Act (Amendment) Bill 2023; Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2023; Federal Polytechnic, Nyak-Shendam (Establishment) Bill; Nigeria Police Force College Training School and Institution (Establishment) Bill, 2023; National Library of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2023; Federal Medical Centers Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023 among others.

These bills are expected to enjoy expeditious passage in both chambers of the National Assembly as consideration of the bills will not commence de-novo (afresh).

The House leader, Prof Julius Ihonvbere, who came under Order 12, Rule 16 of the Standing Orders of the House, hinted that the bills would be re-gazetted and be re-considered expeditiously.

Abuja-based lawyer, Mathew Echo believes that NASS’ inability to override presidential assent is due to lack of independence of the legislature, as most of the legislatures are an appendage of the Executive.

“Secondly, most legislatures hold their loyalty first to their party than to the people and the constitution. This political allegiance tends to erode their standing true to their oath in carrying out their duties,” he pointed out.

Sylvanus Maliki, also a lawyer, explained that the constitution recognises legislative supremacy, which presupposes that the legislature as an arm of government is supreme to all other arms of government.

“Unfortunately, our legislatures have never utilised this opportunity in our democratic dispensation. It is also in line with the doctrine of legislative supremacy that the constitution empowers our legislators to override the president’s refusal to assent to a bill duly passed. Sadly, as it seems, these bills are usually sponsored with huge resources,” he regretted.

The lawyer, however, noted that the executive appears to be supreme in Nigeria because of its control over institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Most times, these institutions, he added, are deployed to intimidate the legislature to succumb to the whim and caprices of the executive. “Our legislatures have become rubber stamps that yield to the executive. It is a sad reality,” he quipped.

Citing the provisions of sections 58(4)(5) and 59(5) of the 1999 constitution, Lagos-based lawyer, Paul Mgbeoma, noted that the lawmakers are empowered to override the refusal of a President to assent to a bill presented to him, but had failed to utilise the power.

He explained that this can happen, provided the National Assembly is able to generate two thirds majority votes of its members.

His words: “Unfortunately, in recent times, the National Assembly has been unable to exercise this power because most times, its leadership is seen as being a rubber stamp of the Executive and cannot muster the courage to take the bold step of overriding the President who is unnecessarily seen to be all-powerful.

“One other reason for the failure of the National Assembly to exercise this power is because most times, it is dominated by members of the ruling party at any given time and they usually do not want to appear to be antagonistic to the President, who is also seen as a de facto leader of the ruling party.”

Mgbeoma bemoaned such development, which he noted has resulted in a situation whereby party loyalty is elevated above national interests.

The 10th National Assembly, a bicameral legislature inaugurated on 13 June 2023, will run its course until 13 June 2027.