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There is reason Dr. Abbas Tajudeen, Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives, matters. At this moment, he holds the enviable record of being the first parliamentarian to have 21 of the 74 bills proposed and sponsored by him scale legislative scrutiny and be signed into law by the President of the Republic. And he achieved this between 2019 and 2023. No other lawmaker shares this record. Not many Nigerians knew him during his tenure in the 9th House, where he served as a member. His election as Speaker in June 2023 was more like an affirmation of his value to lawmaking and legislative leadership. In that election, he secured 353 votes out of 359 votes cast.
That was an attestation which speaks to his quality both as a person and a leader. With 21 of his bills signed into law, Abbas distinguished himself as a prolific lawmaker, setting a standard that is yet to be equalled. The feat also underscores his commitment to addressing critical national issues through lawmaking; a commitment that must have developed from his journey through life, as a teacher, marketing manager in a tobacco company and later university lecturer and administrator, which exposed him to existential realities of daily Nigerian life before his election to the House as representative for Zaria federal constituency.
For him, lawmaking is a tool for building the human society and achieving development. His 21 bills were focused on improving the quality of governance in Nigeria and they span health, education, security, economic management, and governance. To be signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari attests to the quality, relevance, and alignment with national priorities of the bills. This is because a bill must pass rigorous legislative action before it gets to the President’s desk for assent. The rigorous legislative process includes first reading, which is more of an introduction and the second reading, which allows the parliamentarians to debate on the basic principles of the bill and then to the committee stage, which allows for a more detailed scrutiny, including public hearings. The third reading is the approval stage. However, a bill passed by the House must achieve concurrence by the Senate before it is forwarded to the President for assent. All 21 bills by Abbas passed through this stage at a time when he held no special seat in the House.
Some of the 21 bills are the National Blood Transfusion Bill, which establishes a framework for regulating blood transfusion services in Nigeria, addressing critical issues such as blood safety, availability, and quality. It aimed to ensure a steady supply of safe blood for medical emergencies, improve donor screening, and standardise transfusion protocols across the country. There is also a bill to establish 18 Federal Medical Centres across Nigeria to enhance access to quality healthcare, particularly in underserved regions. This aligns with Nigeria’s National Health Policy and Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDGs), which focuses on good health and well-being.
Another of his bills is the Nigeria Council for Management Development Bill (2021), which repealed the Nigeria Council for Management Development Act and the National Centre for Economic Management and Administration Act and established a new framework for regulating management development and economic administration in Nigeria. It aims to enhance capacity building, improve public sector efficiency, and promote professional standards in management practices. He also introduced the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission Act (Amendment) Bill, which introduced sanctions for non-compliance with revenue remittance into the Federation Account, strengthens fiscal discipline, and ensures transparency in revenue management as well as facilitates national development by ensuring that public funds are properly accounted for.
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Abbas also has the Nigeria Vigilance and Community Service Corps Bill to his credit. The bill established a new community policing framework to complement existing security agencies in response to Nigeria’s security challenges, such as banditry, insurgency, and communal conflicts. It also empowers local communities to participate in maintaining law and order. Added to this, Abbas sponsored different bills to establish federal institutions in Zaria, including the Federal College of Education, College of Health Sciences, National Open University campus, and College of Legal Studies. These institutions expand access to tertiary education, address skill shortages, and promote regional development in the northwest geopolitical zone.
It is also a credit to Abbas’ legislative action that the National Assembly Service Commission Act (Amendment) Bill (2021), which aimed to strengthen the administrative framework of the National Assembly, enhances the legislature’s capacity to function independently and efficiently while addressing issues such as staffing, funding, and operational autonomy, was successful. He also has the ‘Constitution Alteration Procedure Bill’, which seeks to streamline the process for amending the 1999 Constitution and ensure that reforms are timely and inclusive, to his credit. The National Assembly Service Commission amendment supports a more professional legislature, while the Constitution Alteration Procedure Bill facilitates responsive governance. Together, these bills strengthen Nigeria’s democratic institutions by enhancing legislative efficiency and accountability, which are some of Abbas’s routes to promoting open governance.
Abbas’s 21 laws are impactful for the fact of their relevance to socio-economic development, legislative leadership, consensus-building, and alignment with national priorities. They address pressing socio-economic challenges, including healthcare access, education, security, and economic management. They also focus on underserved areas and promote inclusive development, while the emphasis on community policing and fiscal discipline backs stability and resource allocation for public welfare. They also align with Nigeria’s development agenda, including the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), the SDGs, and the APC manifesto. For instance, the healthcare and education bills he introduced support human capital development, while his security and fiscal bills address governance challenges. This sort of alignment enhances the relevance of his bills and ensures their integration into broader national policy frameworks.
Abbas’s ability to secure presidential assent for 21 out of 74 bills underscores his legislative skill, consensus-building ability, and alignment with national priorities. As speaker of the 10th House, Abbas continues to build on this legacy, driving reforms that enhance Nigeria’s democratic institutions and socio-economic framework. His leadership style positions him as a transformative leader whose vision is futuristic, while his low-profile approach, which has enabled him to focus on important national assignments with humility, has earned him the respect of his colleagues, stakeholders and aides.
