The 10th National Assembly was inaugurated on Tuesday, with Senator Godswill Akpabio elected as the Senate President.
Expectations are high from Nigerians on both the executive arm, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly now under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio.
Senator Akpabio emerged as the choice of President Tinubu and was well delivered during the election, which he won against former Zamfara Governor, Senator Abdulazeez Yari.
It is now time for work and Hon. Francis Ottah Agbo, a former member representing Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo Federal Constituency of Benue State, and Chairman, House Committee on Narcotic Drugs, said the 10th assembly should push efforts on legislations that would be beneficial to Nigerians during their tenure.
Speaking with DAILY POST, Agbo listed key areas of legislation for the 10th National Assembly:
Restructuring
The former spokesman of the House of Representatives Minority Caucus said the 10th Assembly should initiate the process of restructuring Nigeria.
Agbo said: “The 9th National Assembly achieved so much by turning insurmountable to surmountable. Hundreds of life-saving bills and motions were sponsored and signed into law by the former President, Buhari. We held the government to account and gave public servants sleepless nights in the last four years.
“We stood for the Nigerian people by intervening when the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria came up with his ill-digested policy.
“We intervened when ASUU went on strike; so the 9th National Assembly was a success story. But, there are critical bills to be signed into law, and there are so many motions yet to be sponsored. I urge the 10th Assembly to sit up and initiate the process for the restructuring of Nigeria.
“The Federal Government is over-weighed, and we need to shake that weight off, the Federal Government is over-burdened, and we need to lessen it; we have got to decentralise power (devolution of power) just like we did in the power sector. Now local, state, private individuals, and companies can generate electricity in Nigeria. The 9th National Assembly passed that bill into law.
“The 10th Assembly needs to go further by restructuring Nigeria; for example, you don’t need to have a ministry of Agriculture in Abuja. Agricultural activities take place in the state, so let the state take complete charge of Agriculture. The federal government should just come up with policies that regulate partnership among States, so we don’t need a minister of Agriculture in Abuja.
Decentralisation of Supreme Court/police reform
He noted that the decentralisation of the Supreme Court would enhance the quick dispensation of justice.
To this end, the former lawmaker urged the 10th Assembly to come up with legislation that would decentralise the Supreme Court.
He said: “We need to decentralise the Supreme Court. We need to have zonal Supreme Courts for quick dispensation of justice.
“We need to reform the police; why do you need federal police without community policing?
“We need community policing, and every police officer must be made to undergo the rudimentary task that recruits undergo, just like it is obtainable in Senegal.
“We need to make sure that there is resource control like we had in the first republic; we need to sponsor legislation towards that direction.”
State of residency or citizenship by residency
He said: “We should have a state of residence or citizenship by residency, so that wherever you are born, you automatically become an indigene of that place. A situation where an Idoma who was born in Gboko can’t aspire to be the local government Chairman is not good.
“So, the legislature, as the true representative of the Nigerian people, must initiate these bills in the tenth Assembly.”
Press Council Bill
Stressing that journalists need to be defined in Nigeria, Agbo said: “There’s also the need to reawaken the bill I sponsored on the press council; we need to define who a journalist is in this country. The bill is still before the National Assembly, and it’s still there.
“Section 22 of the 1999 constitution, gives automatic power to journalists to hold the government to account, so there is every need for us to define who’s a journalist. This bill must be reawakened by the 10th Assembly.”
Amending NDLEA Act
He noted: “In amending the NDLEA Act, I propose that candidates of political parties, drivers, pilots, politicians, students, police officers, and the military must be subjected to routine blood tests. In China today, you will be killed by capital punishment if you build a house and it collapses.
“That was supposed to be my first bill to represent before my aspiration was cut short by the Supreme Court. I know there are brilliant politicians in the 10th Assembly, but they shouldn’t be blackmailed by those who thrive on drugs not to sponsor that bill. If we are able to destroy narcotic drug addiction, then we will be able to sanitise Nigeria.
“If we are able to cut the supply chain of drugs and substance to criminals and bandits, we would curtail insecurity in Nigeria.”
Legislation mandating President to send ministerial nominees with portfolios to senate
The former lawmaker said the 10th Assembly should make laws that would mandate the President to send the names of ministerial nominees with their portfolios to the National assembly.
He said: “They should make legislation that sends ministers’ names and their portfolios to the National Assembly. That is what is practicable in other climes where they practise Western democracy.
“The President should send the names of ministers and their portfolios to the 10th Assembly because when Senators ask their questions, it would be issues-targeted and not a wide goose chase that we have seen over the years.”
Legislation on Return to Parliamentary System of government
To this end, Agbo said: “If it’s possible, I would like them to move a motion for the country to return to the parliamentary system of government because this system we are practising is too expensive.
“If we move into a parliamentary system of government, it will be less expensive because executive and legislative powers will be fused together, so if you want to be a minister; you must contest election to be in the House of Representatives, so you are there as a minister and as a lawmaker.”
Internal Democracy Bill
He charged the 10th National Assembly to come up with legislation that would reform political parties.
He said: “What about the internal democracy bill? The biggest threat to our democracy is a tripartite threat- the lack of internal democracy in our political system, the overbearing influence of our politicians, and the bickering judiciary. I initiated that bill, and the first thing for the 10th Assembly is to re-initiate it so that political parties would be empowered to practise what they should do internally.
“That is because political parties have abdicated their responsibilities, the courts have decided and pronounced people as if they are the ballot boxes.
“If political parties are doing the right thing, the court would be decongested, and fewer cases will go to the judiciary.
“The 10th Assembly must reform the political parties, and the internal democracy bill that I sponsored must be reawakened because if the political parties are doing the right thing, the judiciary would not turn itself into a bazaar and father Christmas of inestimable proportion.”
Oronsaye and Uwais committee reports
The former minority caucus spokesman called for the revisiting of the Oronsaye and Justice Uwais report.
He said: “The 10th Assembly should revisit the Civil service reform committee headed by Oronsaye. Most of the agencies are clipping agencies and during budget defence, you see an agency you don’t know having trillions of naira, while the real agencies are being starved of funds.
“The 10th assembly should revisit the Uwais and Oronsanye’s report, so that they can merge the sleeping agencies.
“I believe the 10th Assembly would consolidate on what the previous Assembly has done, and Nigeria would be a better place for it.”
Electoral Act
The former lawmaker lamented the judiciary’s disregard for the electoral act.
He insisted that nothing was wrong with the electoral act to warrant an amendment, stressing that the judiciary should only respect and carry out the provision of the act.
“The problem now is that the judiciary does not respect the provisions of the electoral act. Go and read section 84 of the Electoral Act you will see that the judiciary does not care about all the innovations we inserted.
“I’m not one of those who think that the electoral act should be amended; what we have is good. Is there any document that is perfect? The answer is no. If you like, borrow Canadian or American law, nothing will happen in this country because we don’t believe in the rule of law,” he added.