Senate has dismissed insinuations that the National Assembly has become a mere rubber-stamping institution to the executive arm of government, saying it does not need to be combative to demonstrate its independence.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Yemi Adaramodu, who dismissed the insinuations at the weekend in his country home, Ilawe Ekiti, during an interactive session with newsmen, said the upper chamber had done nothing to warrant being labelled a rubber-stamping institution.

The senator representing Ekiti-South Senatorial District said the mission of the current National Assembly was to be partners in progress to the other arms of governments and to make good laws.

He asked: “What is the meaning of being a rubber stamp? Does it mean that if the executive organ brings an appropriation bill, because we don’t want to be called a rubber stamp, we should oppose it and throw it away? Does it mean that if the Federal Government is proposing a bill on infrastructure, and because we are afraid of being called a rubber stamp, we should reject it? Or if the executive is increasing the allocation to the Judiciary, and because we don’t want to be called a rubber stamp, we throw it away? Or if the Federal Government is proposing an increase in minimum wage, should we reject it so as not to be called a rubber stamp?

“What then is rubber stamping? One thing you must know is that we are not in the Senate with boxing gloves in our hands to go and be fighting the executive or other arms of government. That is not our calling. Our mission is to be partners by making good laws, the job of the executive is to execute while that of the judiciary is to interpret the laws.”

“When the tax bill came, so many people said so many things against it.”

Seeing the content of what was forwarded by the executive, we opened it up. We told the Federal Government to go and do more stakeholder consultations, which they did. Before we started considering the bills, it was opened up for wider consultation in line with our request. The public hearing was held, and various stakeholders, including the CSOs, aired their views. It is the aggregate of these opinions that we are now deliberating on, and we are now at the third reading of the Tax Bills. Does this make us a rubber stamp?”

Speaking on the removal of fuel subsidy and the state of emergency in Rivers State, Adaramodu said: “The removal of fuel subsidy was not the business of the National Assembly. The state of emergency in Rivers, I will not really want to comment on it since it is before a court, but it is very unfortunate that when it comes to such an issue, everyone becomes a lawyer and a judge to interpret it the way it suits them.”