According to Senate President Ahmad Lawan, the president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), signed 104 of the 162 measures passed by the 9th Senate.
Femi Gbajabiamila, Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, said that the 9th National Assembly outperformed the five previous ones since 1999.
The presiding officers of the 9th Assembly also bemoaned the misinterpretation and misunderstanding of the 9th National Assembly by some Nigerians, who incorrectly labeled it as a rubber stamp one.
Separately, at the Welcome Dinner organized for senators and members-elect for the 10th National Assembly by the National Assembly management and the National Institute for Democratic and Legislative Studies at the Ladi Kwali Hall of Hotel Continental in Abuja, the duo stated that the 9th National Assembly’s good governance-driven performance stemmed from a harmonious working relationship with the executive arm of government.
In particular, the Senate President stated in his speech that as of July 2022, a total of 874 bills had been introduced at the first reading, of which 162 passed the third reading and 104 were concurred to by the House of Representatives and assented to by the President.
“At the outset, the 9th Senate was conscious of the damaging effect of persistent conflict with the Executive and the consequent impact on legislative activities,” he stated. We were also conscious that a positive working relationship is desirable, if not required, for successful and efficient service delivery to the public.
“As of July 2022, 874 bills had been introduced in the Senate, with 162 of them passing.” President Muhammadu Buhari has signed 104 Bills of the 9th Senate, which is significantly more than the previous assemblies, which recorded 31 for the 4th Assembly, 98 for the 5th Assembly, 52 for the 6th Assembly, 60 for the 7th Assembly, and 74 for the 8th Assembly.”
“This approach to engaging with the executive has resulted in misunderstanding and misperception, leading many to label the 9th National Assembly as a “rubber stamp” Assembly.” However, our objective in preferring a harmonious and collaborative engagement with the administration has been to better serve Nigeria by ensuring a safe environment for national progress.
“There is no doubt that this has benefited the people we represent.” In comparison to past Assemblies, the 9th National Assembly’s achievement in the area of law-making is related to peaceful executive-legislative interactions, which, contrary to popular belief, do not need to be combative.”
“In line with our well-articulated Legislative Agenda,” Lawan continued, “the 9th Senate prioritized the return of the Federal Budget to a predictable January-December cycle, security, corruption, youth employment, poverty alleviation, education, health care provision, gender, economic growth and diversification, and oil and gas, among other issues.”
He claimed that they targeted several opportune legislative measures to address Nigeria’s multifarious problems.
“Through consensus building and deft political brinksmanship, the Ninth National Assembly has broken many ‘jinxes’ and accomplished many ‘firsts.'”
Lawan stated that the 9th Senate has concentrated its efforts on laws that would improve the lives of Nigerians.
In his own statement, Gbajabiamila stated that those Nigerians who labeled the 9th National Assembly as a rubber stamp assembly were mistaken because the legislative was not established to oppose the administration but to supplement it for good government.
“In the context of its usage in Nigeria, rubber stamp has become a romantic language, a very wrong description of the relationship between the National Assembly and the executive in the last four years,” he remarked.
He urged the federal lawmakers-elect for the tenth National Assembly to build on the successes of the ninth.
“Too many Nigerians are beginning to question whether democracy is the best form of governance, and for democracy to meet the legitimate expectations of the people, relevant institutions of government must be made to function well,” he said.