The Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, has questioned calls for the National Assembly to suspend its ongoing recess, warning lawmakers against allowing the parliament to be used to advance the interests of political actors ahead of the 2027 general elections.
 
Agbese acknowledged concerns raised by some lawmakers over pressing national issues, particularly insecurity and the non-payment of contractors handling constituency projects, but said the timing of the demand for lawmakers to return from recess was suspicious.
 
His position followed calls by a bipartisan group of lawmakers under the aegis of the Save Democracy Group for the House to cut short its recess and resume plenary amid what they described as worsening insecurity, economic hardship, poor budget implementation, and other challenges confronting the country.

The group, comprising lawmakers from different political parties and regions, had raised concerns over what it described as the “nose-diving” of Nigeria’s democracy, citing alleged constitutional breaches and opaque public expenditure, among other issues.

But Agbese urged his colleagues to exercise caution, particularly as the 2027 elections draw closer.

“One cannot say the highly respected lawmakers are wrong, but the timing is suspicious,” he said.
 
According to him, lawmakers must guard against situations in which parliamentary activities are driven by interests outside the legislature.
 
“The 2027 elections are just around the corner, and one must be careful not to be seen to be running errands for highly vested political interests outside the parliament,” Agbese said.
 
The lawmaker, however, said the concerns raised over failure of the executive to pay contractors who had executed constituency projects were legitimate and should not be ignored or politicised.
 
He said the contractors had committed their resources to projects approved under the national budget and deserved to be paid.

“The executive has not done well on their promise to pay contractors who have used their resources to execute constituency projects for the lawmakers. It is wrong, and there is no need to sugarcoat it,” Agbese said.
 
He explained that the leadership of the National Assembly was already engaging the executive through parliamentary diplomacy to resolve the issue.