Three years on: How has the 10th House fared on its legislative promises

Three years ago, when lawmakers of the 10th House of Representatives took their seats at the National Assembly, they promised a parliament that would do more than pass bills.

They pledged to use legislation and oversight to address some of Nigeria’s biggest challenges, from insecurity and economic hardship to weak institutions and social development gaps.

The House, inaugurated on June 13, 2023, built its work around an eight-point Legislative Agenda: strengthening good governance, improving national security, reforming laws, driving economic growth, developing the social sector, promoting inclusion and open parliament, influencing foreign policy, and advancing climate and environmental sustainability.
With one year left before the end of its tenure, the question is how well the 10th House, led by Abbas Tajudeen as speaker, performed on its own set agenda legislative and what difference it has made for Nigerians.

On Strengthening Good Governance:

The Green chamber has considered nearly 3,000 bills and hundreds of motions since its inauguration, with several receiving presidential assent. Lawmakers have also used public hearings and committee investigations to scrutinise government agencies and public spending.

However, while more oversight may indicate a more active legislature, the House probes and oversight have left more questions than answers. The outcome of probes is never made public or implemented. And for many citizens, issues such as corruption concerns, inefficient public services and weak accountability systems remain unresolved.

Security:

Security was one of the strongest themes in the 10th House’s agenda, reflecting the country’s long battle with terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and organised crime.
The House has passed some key legislations to boost national security, such as the landmark state police, the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) Act, the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons Act, the police Act, and the police trust fund. The House further approved a steady increase in the military budget to boost the armed forces’ preparedness.

Beyond lawmaking, the House has held hearings and oversight engagements involving security agencies and the wider security architecture. There is also hardly any legislative day without considering a motion on security.

But three years later, Kidnapping, banditry and violent attacks continue, meaning legislative interventions have not yet produced a decisive security turnaround.

Law reform: This is one area where the 10th House has recorded some visible legislative movement. The House has pushed constitutional amendment proposals covering several areas, including electoral reforms, fiscal reforms, judicial reforms, local government reforms, and state policing.

However, the unfinished nature of most of these constitutional proposals and reforms means their potential impact is stalled. Also, these reforms did not address issues around electoral integrity, technology and political party reforms.

Economic growth:

Economic growth and development formed a major part of the House’s agenda, and the Assembly has been involved in some of the country’s biggest economic reforms.
The most significant has been the tax reform process, which introduced major changes to Nigeria’s tax system through four key bills:
the Nigeria Tax Bill, the Nigeria Tax Administration Bill, the Nigeria Revenue Service Bill, and the Joint Revenue Board Bill.

The House has also continued budget oversight and passed budgets for three fiscal years, but implementation of budgets passed by the 10th Assembly has been judged among the worst in recent times.
Furthermore, amid the legislation, the economic reality outside the National Assembly has been difficult. Nigerians have faced high inflation, increased living costs and pressure on household incomes.

Social Sector Reform and Development:

The House has passed hundreds of bills establishing and upgrading educational and health institutions. Committees have engaged health, education and social-sector agencies to address perculiar challenges. One of its notable pieces of legislation is the Student Loan Act, to boost access to education.

However, legislative interventions have largely focused on creating new institutions rather than fixing existing weaknesses, as systemic issues in the health and education sectors persist

Inclusion and open parliament:

The 10th House promised a more open parliament where citizens, civil society groups and stakeholders could participate more directly, which it kept to a good extent through its annual open governance week.

However, one of the biggest inclusion debates, increasing representation for women and other underrepresented groups, remains unresolved. No major structural political reform has significantly expanded youth participation.

Foreign policy: Perhaps the least visible pillar,

It has largely been pursued through parliamentary diplomacy, engagements with foreign legislatures and international parliamentary platforms.
However, compared with economic reforms, security and constitutional issues, foreign policy has produced fewer visible legislative milestones.
It remains one of the quieter areas of the House’s work.

Climate and environment:

This pillar has also received little to no attention, while Nigeria’s environmental problems remain highly visible.
Flooding, erosion, pollution and climate-related disasters continue to affect communities across the country.

Now with one year left, the task before the 10th House is not only to actualise it’s agenda, but to prove they can work. The remaining year will determine whether some of its biggest promises move from the pages of the Legislative Agenda into measurable changes in the lives of Nigerians.