NASS REPUBLIC: Lawan’s sanctimonious stand on new class of lawmakers. Two other stories, and a quote to remember

The President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, last week, expressed low confidence in the ability of the Senators that would make up the incoming 10th Senate due to be inaugurated in June.

Two other stories from the National Assembly were analysed within the week under review.

1. Lawan’s sanctimonious stand on new class of lawmakers

On April 13, Lawan disclosed that the forthcoming 10th Senate would have a handful of inexperienced lawmakers.

Lawan stated this while receiving 2020, 2021 and 2022 annual reports of the activities of the National Assembly Service Commission at his office in the White House of the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.

“…when you have only 30 per cent of the ninth National Assembly going to the 10th Assembly, you know that you have lost capacity,” he said.
“You have lost experience. You have lost skills, enterprise and so on and so forth. These are traits that you need to hit the ground running immediately.”

Lawan’s fresh worries are not unconnected with the natural belief that well-experienced Senators make better legislators.

His concerns are, indeed, not misplaced. A lot is required by way of capacity-building to groom the new set of legislators in the art of lawmaking.

However, while his fears are genuine, the argument has also been made that even the 9th assembly which Lawan led was a rubber-stamp legislature, always too eager to do the bidding of the Buhari-led executive.

Lawan can, therefore, be said to be sounding unduly sanctimonious as he failed woefully to hold leadership accountable for most part of his tenure, choosing instead to play unprogressive politics.

NASS MEMORY LANE

Who said;

“Politics is not a bad career as people make you believe. If you say it is bad, then you have to be actively involved as good citizens to make it attractive. If you leave it in the hands of bad people, who then will build the better society you want?”

Answer:See end of post

Two other stories

2. Gbajabiamila on leadership tussle in House of Reps

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on April 13 denied supporting anyone to succeed him as the Speaker of the House.

“Today, April 13, 2023, a national daily carried a cover story in which it reported that I was against the aspiration of my deputy, Rt. Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase, and some other aspirants to the office of Speaker in the 10th House. I have not declared support for any of my colleagues who have declared their interest,” he stated on his Twitter page.

READ ALSO:NASS REPUBLIC: Kalu on clamour for interim govt. One other story and a quote to remember

Gbajabiamila’s clarification may have been designed to soothe frayed nerves, a smart move to douse the tension among the aspirants and their supporters who are clamouring for a level playing ground.

Many are, however, not deceived by Gbajabiamila’s posturing as his loyalty to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is easy to foretell.

It is clear that the incumbent Speaker is merely being politically correct by not openly supporting any aspirant. However, only time would unmask the actual game plan.

3. Adeyemi on Kogi APC guber primary

On April 15, the Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, and one of the aspirants of the APC governorship ticket in Kogi State, Smart Adeyemi, faulted the primary election which produced a candidate for the party.

“We witnessed a new phenomenon of electoral malpractice and embedded corruption in the electoral process of our country,” he told Journalists in Abuja.

“If there was an election and it was rigged, we would know it was rigged, but where there was no election at all, for someone to have the audacity to write the result and went ahead to announce it.”

Adeyemi’s claims speak to the rot in the Nigerian electoral system. As persuasive as his claims may appear, they would amount to nothing unless he submits to a judicial process to defend his claims with evidence.

The public awaits his next move to make a sense of his claims.

Answer:Senator Nkeiruka Onyejeocha
Onyejeocha made the statement on November 29, 2022, when she gave scholarships to secondary school students in her constituency – Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency of Abia State.

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