We were not elected to fight Tinubu – Akpabio

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has said lawmakers were not elected to engage in confrontation with the Executive but to foster policies that promote national development.

The senate president spoke in an upcoming feature documentary to mark two years of the Bola Tinubu administration.

Mr Akpabio, reflecting on the importance of cooperation between the National Assembly and the Executive, said, “When elected into the National Assembly, whether in the Senate or the House of Representatives, your constituents will not give you boxing gloves. It’s not a boxing tournament. You are there to work in a bipartisan manner for the interest of Nigeria.”

He emphasised that the relationship between both arms of government has been cordial over the past two years, owing to a shared vision for the country’s progress.

“If you spend all your energy fighting the Executive, who will work for Nigeria?” he asked. He added that the current administration is unique in Nigeria’s history, with a President, First Lady, and Vice President, all former senators.

President Tinubu served as a senator for Lagos West in the short-lived Third Republic. At the same time, the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, was a member of the upper chamber from 2011 to 2023, representing the Lagos Central Senatorial District.

On his part, Vice President Kashim Shettima represented Borno Central between 2019 and 2023.

Legislative priorities

Highlighting legislative priorities, Mr Akpabio revealed that the National Assembly is working on a bill mandating ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to prioritise procuring locally assembled vehicles over imported alternatives.

“We have started the bill for enacting legislation to enable us first purchase automobiles from Nigerian companies before thinking of importing them,” he said.

“We lose billions of dollars annually importing vehicles and other items that can be produced locally.”

The senate president underscored the urgent need to revive Nigeria’s manufacturing sector, citing the collapse of the textiles industry and cash crops, such as cotton, groundnut, and palm oil, which were once the bedrock of the economy.

“Over 50 textile companies have left Nigeria. The cotton industry collapsed. The groundnut industry collapsed. The palm oil industry collapsed. Look at countries like Malaysia that have leveraged palm oil to boost their economies,” he lamented.

Mr Akpabio praised the “Nigeria First” policy championed by the Tinubu administration, describing it as a “fantastic” initiative that deserves legislative backing.

He disclosed that discussions were ongoing with the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) to promote laws ensuring Nigeria produces most of its consumption.

“We are going to make laws and produce bills that ensure almost every item we consume that can be produced in Nigeria is produced in Nigeria. Taking Nigeria First means bringing industries back to the country to serve our population of over 200 million,” he said.

Mr Akpabio called for more significant support for local entrepreneurs, noting that even small-scale production ventures such as vinegar or bread could thrive in Nigeria’s vast consumer market.

“Even if you produce vinegar and bag it well, it will fly. If you produce bread, you will be a millionaire considering the kind of population that we have,” he stated.

The senate president assured that the National Assembly is committed to passing the necessary legal instruments to sustain this industrial renaissance and reduce the country’s import dependence.

We’re not a rubber stamp of the Executive

Regarding checks and balances, Mr Akpabio refuted claims that the legislature is merely rubber-stamping executive decisions.

He noted that the National Assembly has occasionally rejected presidential nominees when necessary.

“People forget that we have made enemies by rejecting some of the nominees that the president sent to us. It’s not everything the president brings that he takes back the same way,” he said.

Mr Akpabio maintained that the Assembly’s role is to scrutinise, amend, and support executive actions that align with the national interest.

“Our job is to make sure we cross the T’s and dot the I’s to assist the president in having the best for the Nigerian population,” he said.

The senate president assured Nigerians that the 10th National Assembly will continue prioritising pro-people legislation supporting the president’s bold reform agenda.

“This government is not a government of theory; it’s a government of action. So, for us in the National Assembly, we are very focused on pro-people legislation,” Mr Akpabio stated.

He cited several landmark legislative interventions that align with the administration’s reforms, including the Student Loan Act (NELFUND), Tax reform bills, and the Minimum Wage Bill.

“We have done quite a lot in just two years. I assure Nigerians that more people-focused laws are coming: laws that will reduce hardship, open the economy, and empower young people.

“From the perspective of the National Assembly, we have scrutinised almost every bill that the president has brought. We have aligned it with the Nigerian people’s realities and needs and supported it by ensuring they are speedily passed.

“We don’t waste time on anything that will enhance the living standard of Nigerians, “he said.

Rubber stamp?

Since their inauguration in 2023, the Senate and the House of Representatives have been criticised for allegedly being subservient to the Tinubu government.

The critics quickly point to bills and requests approved for the government with little or no scrutiny.

Such approval includes the N5 billion allocation for a yacht in the 2023 budget, a $800 million World Bank loan initially requested by former President Muhammadu Buhari, a $7.8 billion and 100 million Euros loan request shortly after passing the N2.18 trillion supplementary budget proposal.

Others are the secularisation of N7.3 trillion, repeated budget implementation extensions, emergency rule in River State, and the return to the old national anthem.

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The legislature has also been criticised for approving some controversial appointments made by the president. A notable one is the appointment of some INEC REC alleged to be partisan despite opposition from some civil society organisations.

Although President Tinubu’s party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), controls a majority in both chambers of the National Assembly, some critics say the legislature extends the gesture to the president because the leadership owes their emergence to the president.

In 2023, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who was the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, had charged members of the party in the National Assembly members-elect not to be part of the “rubber-stamp legislative arm or those who may want to govern as dictators.”