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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese, has said the 10th National Assembly is taking the lead in initiating people oriented bills and policies.
Agbese, in statement, on Wednesday, said contrary to claims that lawmakers merely endorse proposals from the executive, the initiatives of the parliament were designed to address the needs of Nigerians.
He stated that one of the several people oriented bills, recently passed by the parliament included the passage of the state police, before the executive introduced its own bill on the matter.
The lawmaker, who is also a member of Labour Party (LP) explained that the passage of Executive Bill on State Police should be viewed as an effort to harmonise proposals from both arms of government and avoid unnecessary duplication and expenditure, instead of being seen from the perspective of a rubber stamp parliament.
According to him, “the idea is that contrary to the insinuation being created in some quarters that we pass every bill and motion from the executive, I want to clear the air that we are working ahead of the executive on bills that have positive impact on the generality of people.
“We have been on the state police bills for sometimes now. The initiative remains solely that of the Parliament. What the executive have done so far by introducing an executive bill is to come in at the right time for both arms of government to have a refined document at the centre before sending the same proposal to the State Houses of Assembly. It is just to ensure that we don’t waste taxpayers’ resources unnecessarily by going back and forth.
Agbese, while reacting to the recent calls by some lawmakers for the National Assembly to suspend its recess because of pressing national challenges, acknowledged their concerns, but questioned the timing of the demand, particularly with the 2027 general elections approaching.
“One cannot say the highly respected lawmakers are wrong but the timing is suspicious.The 2027 elections are just by the corner and one must be careful not to be seen to be running errands for highly vested political interests outside the parliament,” he said.
The lawmaker, while speaking on security situation in the country, Agbese said the country was beginning to record positive developments despite the persistent security challenges.
Agbese, who cited the recent rescue of kidnapped citizens in Oriire, Oyo State, Kwara State and other parts of the country as evidence that the armed forces were making progress in their operations.
The lawmaker commended the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. General Olufemi Oluyede and the Service Chiefs for their strategic approaches in coordinating the nation’s armed forces.
“We are beginning to record positive gains despite the numerous challenges that we are being faced with as a country,” he said.
