From Fred Itua, Abuja
The 8th Senate kicked off on a tempestuous note. For the first time in modern history, no political party had a clear majority to elect the President of the senate and the deputy.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), unlike the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) in the past, did not have a clear majority in the senate. It could not also effectively decide where the pendulum was going to swing. Although a mock election was held by the party ahead of the June 9, 2015 inauguration of the 8th Senate, where Senator Ahmad Lawan , the party’s choice emerge, the party could not push his candidature through.
In the end, Senator Bukola Saraki, who the party never wanted for the position, allegedly formed a strong alliance with his former party, the PDP and subsequently secured its support. He was elected, while his APC counterparts were holding a meeting at the International Conference Centre in Abuja.
While the Senate was yet to recover from its bitter in-house election, the federal government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and minister of Justice, dragged Saraki to the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). What was his offence? He allegedly under-declared his assets when he held sway as governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011.
The following year, 2016, the government again dragged Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu before an Abuja High Court, over claims that the duo forged the Senate Standing Rules which were used during their election and swearing-in. Therefore half of 2015 and the whole of 2016 was rough for the senate.
But in 2017, the Senate had what could pass for its first hitch-free session. For the everyday Nigerian however, 2017 meant nothing, but not so for members of the 8th Senate. For them, it was a year of mixed feelings, daring moves, ad hoc committees, unresolved probes and idle reports.
The year 2017 may also go down in modern history as the busiest year for the Senate. It was a year the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Mr. Hameed Ali, had a major face-off with the senate. This was seen as another defining moment in the upper legislative chamber.
Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)
Nearly a decade after late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua- led government conceived the idea of a Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), the senate, earlier in 2017, passed it. According to details of the bill, it seeks to create efficient and effective governing institutions with clear and separate roles for the petroleum industry. It seeks to establish a framework for the creation of commercially oriented and profit driven petroleum entities that ensure value addition and internationalisation of the petroleum industry.
The bill seeks to establish a framework for the creation of commercially oriented and profit driven petroleum entities to ensure value addition and internationalisation of the petroleum industry, and to also promote transparency and accountability in the administration of petroleum resources of Nigeria and foster a conducive business environment for petroleum industry operations.
With the passage of the bill, now tagged Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), a new regulatory agency will be set up. The senate is at the verge of passing into law, another phase of PIB, which deals with derivation and other environment-related issues.
Public hearing on budget
The 8th Senate earlier in 2017, held a first-of-its-kind public hearing on the 2017 Appropriation Bill. Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Mohammed Danjuma Goje, explained then that the 2017 Budget hearing was aimed at making the National Budgeting process an all-inclusive activity for Nigerians.
“Budget Hearing will shape discourse on fiscal, financial and economic assumptions used as basis in arriving at total estimated expenditure. The forum on Budget Hearing will be used for the collation of views and positions with a view to making general legislative contribution,” Danjuma had said.
In an earlier statement, Saraki, stated that the historic public hearing on the budget was aimed at ensuring more citizen-participation in the legislative processes.
“We will continue to create platforms such as these that will allow the general public to play a role in what we do here. Moving forward, the public can expect that we will continue this practice of having an open budget hearing where every-day Nigerians are primary contributors,” Saraki said.
North East Development Commission (NEDC)
At the peak of the humanitarian crisis in the North East, in 2016, the Senate leadership visited some troubled states. Following its discoveries, it gave an accelerated hearing to the NEDC Bill, which was already before the senate at the time. Before the Senate embarked on its annual recess, the bill was passed into law.
After the will was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari recently, Saraki offered the following thoughts: “this is a major development in the efforts by the present administration to restore peace and normalcy in the North East and making the harrowing experience of the people, as a result of the insurgency, a thing of the past.
“I applaud President Buhari for signing the bill into law. Now that the NEDC Act has the full force and effect of the law, it is my hope that we can collectively work towards the rehabilitation, reconstruction and rebuilding of the North East. I believe the NEDC Act will help alleviate the suffering of the millions of Nigerians whose lives have been affected by the insurgency in the zone.
“You will recall that when I visited Maiduguri, I promised that the National Assembly will work and pass laws to alleviate the suffering of the people. I thank God, Mr. President, my colleagues and members of the House of Representatives for making the promise a reality,” Saraki added.
South East Development Commission Bill
Lawmakers from the South East, earlier in the year, drafted a bill for the establishment of a development commission that would act as a catalyst to develop the geopolitical zone. While the bill was rejected in the House of Representatives, it scaled second reading on the floor of the senate. The bill is tagged South East Development Commission (SEDC), when passed and signed into law, is expected to provide a roadmap for the development of roads, education, health facilities, industrialisation, agriculture, housing and urban development, water supply, electricity and commerce in the five member states of Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi and Abia.
In the same vein, the Commission would provide policies and guidelines for the development of the South East, conception of plans for development in accordance with set rule as well as produce regulations, programmes and projects for sustainable development of the region.
It is also expected to provide master plans for reduction of unemployment while also providing master plans and schemes to promote the physical development of the South East.
Other functions of the Commission include tackling ecological and environmental problems that arise from soil erosion problems and other related environmental challenges in the South-East and advise the federal government and member states on the prevention and control of the erosion and environmental challenges as well as identifying factors inhibiting the development of the South-East and assist member states on the formulation and implementation of policies to ensure sound and efficient management of the resources of the region.
Face-off between Senate and Customs boss
In March, 2017, the senate and the NCS boss, Ali, had one of the longest face-offs in Nigeria’s parliamentary history. According to keen observers who followed the proceedings, the face-off tested the will of the senate. And despite repeated threats to take a decisive action, the Customs boss won the battle.
Trouble started in early 2017, when the Senate, through a motion, mandated the NCS to suspend its decision to implement inspection of payment of Customs duties by vehicle owners who do not have them as prescribed by law.
For over two weeks, the senate tried, without success, to compel Ali to appear before it. After a long ‘hide and seek’ exchange of banters, the Customs boss appeared, but this time, without his service uniforms. He was walked out and was again mandated to appear fully kitted.
He shunned the senate. Instead, he approached the Federal High Court in Abuja. In a belated effort to save its face, the Senate leadership, issued series of threats, relying on Section 89 of the Constitution.
The section states “For the purpose of any investigation, under Section 88 of this Constitution and subject to the provision thereof, the Senate or the House of Representatives…shall have the power to procure all evidence written or oral, direct or circumstantial.”
In the end, Ali, believed to be backed by President Buhari, walked away untouched. Till date, the Senate has kept a loud silence on the issue. It was one of the low moments of the 8th Senate in 2017.
Ad hoc committees and idle reports
The Senate, no doubt, was busy in 2017. In certain quarters, it will not be out of place to conclude that the Red Chamber got involved in too many activities. In the end, not much was achieved in terms of reports considered.
In the senate, there are about 68 standing committees. Despite this bogus number, the leadership of the upper chamber opted more for ad hoc committees in 2017. Beyond that, almost the same people were recycled, either as members of these ad hoc committees or chairmen.
Sadly however, many reports of these ad hoc committees were never considered and adopted before the end of the year. For political pundits, this was one of the low points of Saraki-led 8th Senate.
Budget padding
In 2017, the Senate, like the House of Representatives in 2016, got embroiled in budget padding scandal. A ‘super’ minister in charge of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, made the claims, soon after the Danjuma Goje-led joint Appropriation committee submitted its final work.
Fashola had alleged that the National Assembly, particularly the senate, inserted items that were hitherto not captured in the original document, into the 2017 budget. He also accused the lawmakers of frustrating efforts by the federal government to complete the Lagos-Ibadan Road, the 2nd Niger Bridge and other critical road infrastructure projects.
Police invasion
In early 2017, officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) invaded the private home of Goje and allegedly carted away the 2017 budget documents. The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, hurriedly returned the said items when the National Assembly threatened not to pass the budget.
Similar, during the year under review, the same NPF raided a guest house in Abuja, belonging to the Deputy President of the senate, Ekweremadu. The raid did not go down well with members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, as they came out forcefully to lampoon the police over the development.
In all, 2017 appears a remarkable year for the senate even though it was a mixture of the good, the bad and the ugly.