House of Representatives Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,Nigeria’s Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has responded to critics who label the 10th National Assembly (NASS) a rubber stamp, saying they don’t understand ‘why we’re here.’
Akpabio said this on Thursday, June 12, during a joint session of the two NASS chambers, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in attendance, to commemorate Nigeria’s 26 years of democracy.
The Senate President, in his speech, explained that the number of petitions the parliament has received is a testimony of the trust the people of Nigeria still have in the institution.
“Beyond bills, the National Assembly has received over a hundred petitions from Nigerian citizens and civil societies.
“This is a testimony to the public trust in the institution. Of these, 28 petitions have been fully adopted, providing redress, transparency, and institutional accountability,” Akpabio said.
Speaking on the relationship between the executive arm and parliament, Akpabio said the country can only prosper when both arms work together with a shared vision, rather than as rivals.
“History teaches us that nations make the greatest progress when the executive arm that governs us has vision and the legislature guides with vision. But they prosper most when both work hand in hand, not as rivals, but as co-stewards of the national trust,” he added, making analogies with the developmental efforts in the United States and some African countries.
“In Rwanda and Ghana, transformation was achieved through shared resolve between these two arms of government. In South Africa, Mandela’s dream was realised through executive-legislative collaboration.”
Continuing, the Senate President stated that the robust relationship between the National Assembly and the Executive is in the interest of the people, calling for a renewed commitment between the arms of government while also ignoring the critics.
“The lesson is very clear: where governance is in partnership, progress follows. But where governance is a contest, people suffer. Therefore, as we commemorate 26 years of uninterrupted democratic governance, we must renew our national commitment to foster collaboration between different arms of government and ignore the critics who decide to term the parliament a ‘rubber stamp.’ Because they don’t understand why we are here,” Akpabio further added.