• Friday, March 29, 2024
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House of Reps passes 352 bills, resolves 1,413 motions, considers 2,015 petitions in 4 years

Dogara

The House of Representatives has passed 352 out of 1,643 bills presented in the lifespan of the 8th Assembly, resolved 1,413 out of 1,588 motions sponsored, and considered 205 out of 1,192 petitions received.
Edward Pwajok, chairman, Rules and Business Committee of House, who gave this breakdown Thursday at the valedictory session of the 8th Assembly, said in the first session, 685 bills were introduced and 68 were passed, while in the second session, 379 bills were introduced and 41 were passed.

In the third session, 446 bills were introduced and 94 were passed, while in the fourth session, 143 bills were introduced and 63 were passed, bringing the total bills passed to 352 out of 1643 bills that were presented.
”For motions, 1,413 were resolved, 1,137 were referred to various committees, 17 were withdrawn and 1 was deferred leaving a total of 1,588,” Pwajok said.

“The House received and laid on the table 1,192 petitions, laid and yet to be considered 22, considered on the floor of the House 205, and rejected 2. 108 of the bills came from the Senate, 1,465 of the bills were private members’ bills,” he said.
On other achievements of the House during the period under review, Pwajok said the 8th Assembly made history by altering the constitution.

“This Assembly successfully altered many sections of the constitution, including giving the state legislature and judiciary financial autonomy. We also lowered the age limit for those contesting in the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ bill, which opened up the space for our younger citizens to offer themselves to be voted for offices,” he said.
”We also amended the constitution so that if there is any vacancy or something happens to Mr. President, the Vice President will not only step in but retain power and the same thing too for governors,” he added.
Pwajok said it was through the 8th Assembly that private members’ bill changed Democracy Day from May 29 to June 12, and it was the same Assembly that increased the minimum wage to N30,000 as against the N27,000 proposed by the executive. 
”There are many progressive bills passed which are awaiting assent. There is one to remove age discrimination because we have earlier declared state of emergency on unemployment so that our employed youths and graduates will receive favourable attention by the public service,” he said.

Other achievements, according to Pwajok, include removal of dichotomy between Bachelor’s degrees and HND, granting of options of citizenship to married women in the public service, repeal of the old Companies and Allied Matters Act which has not been amended since 1990 and enactment of a new one to ease doing business in Nigeria, prohibition of estimated billing by electricity distribution companies, establishment of the North East Development Commission and the passage of the South East Development Commission bill. 
”Apart from bills which is the core function of the legislature which is to make law, the 8th Assembly pursued its representational role as elected representatives of the people to speak for the people of Nigeria, passed many resolutions covering all areas of our national life that concerned the people from insecurity to terrorist attacks, murder, kidnapping, killings, education, health, Nigeria in diaspora, unemployment, youth, women, etc.

“In terms of oversight responsibility of the House, we investigated many of the ministries to expose corruption in line with section 58 of the constitution. It is the deliberations of the House on members’ motion that got the police and other government agencies to embark on using local governments as a basis for recruitment using Federal Character principles,” he said.
Declaring the 8th Assembly closed, House Speaker Yakubu Dogara lamented that the outgoing National Assembly was the most persecuted and harassed in Nigeria’s history.
”The 8th House holds the record as the most persecuted and harassed parliament ever in Nigeria’s history. Some of our members bear the scars of reckless deployment of institutional prerogatives. We witnessed sieges and invasion by state operatives.

“Some members suffered witch-hunts, house arrests and false accusations. We are also witnesses to barrage of uncharitable criticisms and assessments bandied on daily basis in the media by hired mercenaries who masquerade as analysts. Most of these analysts are ignorant of the fact that the parliament was not designed to be an altar of praise for the executive but a co-equal branch to serve as a check on executive power,” Dogara said.

He, however, noted that the 8th House of Representatives, and the National Assembly as an institution, was a huge success.

“This is without apology to whoever may hold a contrary opinion. The stubborn facts are out there for every commentator to see. We took off amidst headwinds and turbulence but on stabilising, we have witnessed book throwers and table climbers transform into solid leaders. We have seen mace grabbers wrestled until they surrendered to the dictates of the rule of law, true friendship and brotherhood,” he said. 
The valedictory session was attended by Governors Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State, former Speakers of the House Benjamin Chaha, Ghali Na’aba, and Patricia Etteh, former members, among others.

JAMES KWEN