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By Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
In the last few weeks, the House of Representatives minority caucus has been firing on all cylinders. From calling for the resignation of President Bola Tinubu over the deplorable security situation in the country, to vowing to raise the issue of non-implementation of the national budget when Since the House resumes plenary on July 7, the opposition lawmakers have been piling pressure on the All Progressives Congress-controlled federal government.
Shortly after the emergence of the new minority leadership, the opposition lawmakers, at a press briefing by the minority leader, Fred Agbedi, pointedly accused the ruling party of elevating 2027 politics above the welfare of citizens. Agbedi, while examining the security crisis in the country, pointedly told the President to either live up to his responsibility as Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces or throw in the towel.
According to them, “Nigeria is bleeding. Nigeria is confused. And Nigeria is being deliberately pushed to the brink by a government that has elevated 2027 electioneering above the lives and welfare of citizens. From Sokoto to Enugu, from Borno to Lagos, the story is the same: hunger, killings, kidnappings, collapse of the naira, collapse of hope.
“Yet what preoccupies the ruling party and the Presidency is 2027. Endorsement rallies. Defections. Re-election strategies. Town hall meetings to discuss tenure security. The life of every Nigerian matters. Politics must take the back seat when the nation bleeds. President Tinubu must suspend all 2027 political activities and declare a six month National Security and Economic Recovery Plan. Lead or leave.”
Promptly, the chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Akin Rotimi, rose in defence of the APC-led government. Rotimi, while noting that “Nigeria’s security challenges did not emerge overnight and cannot be resolved through isolated interventions,” stated that the parliament is collaborating with the executive and security agencies to strengthen the country’s security framework through legislation, appropriation and oversight.
“The House respectfully reminds the Minority Caucus that it remains an integral part of government within the legislative arm of the state. Parliament collectively bears responsibility for lawmaking, oversight and appropriation, and is therefore jointly accountable for strengthening national security outcomes. The obligation to offer solutions, strengthen institutions and support effective policy implementation is a shared one, not one divided along caucus lines,” he stated.
Nonetheless, that response by the House spokesman irked the opposition lawmakers, compelling them to fire another salvo. The minority caucus, in a statement by its spokesman, Afam Ogene, accused Rotimi of defending the indefensible, while noting that the executive has repeatedly failed to honour the commitments it made to citizens through the parliament.
Consequently, Ogene noted that the opposition lawmakers have resolved to raise the issue of non-implementation of the national budget since 2024 when the House resumes plenary on July 7, stating that “the caucus notes with alarm that defence and security-related ministries, departments and agencies have recorded less than 30% budget implementation. There is a direct correlation between the non-payment of local contractors, breakdowns of operational logistics, and escalating insecurity across the country. The Armed Forces cannot sustainably prosecute campaigns against heavily armed insurgents under such fiscal constraints.
“The Minority Caucus will keep speaking out for Nigerians, as the Constitution demands. That is not partisanship; it is parliamentary duty. The legislature is the soul of democracy because of its sacred responsibility to the people. If the Majority Caucus chooses to forget this, the Minority Caucus will not continue to abdicate this sacred responsibility.”
As tough as the minority caucus may sound, the question is whether the opposition lawmakers have woken from their deep slumber or are merely grandstanding. Since the inception of the 10th Assembly, opposition lawmakers have repeatedly betrayed hopes that they will hold the government to account. Ironically, the opposition political parties combined had recorded an uncommon feat in the history of the House, as they produced 183 of the 360 members of the Green Chamber, leaving the ruling party with 177 members.
After their initial boast that they would leverage their numbers to determine the leadership of the 10th House, the opposition lawmakers, under the aegis of “Greater Majority,” capitulated and openly endorsed the choice of the APC for the leadership position. From then, it has been a journey of acquiescence with the ruling party on almost all issues.
For instance, while opposition political parties as well as civil society have repeatedly called out the President over his endless borrowing, there is no evidence of the minority caucus taking the government to task on loan requests, which are often approved by the Green Chamber within hours, without proper scrutiny.
Nonetheless, there have been a few instances where the opposition caucus made attempts to hold the government’s feet to the fire. Last December, the current deputy leader of the minority caucus, Abdulsamad Dasuki, raised the alarm over alleged alteration of the tax laws, which had been passed by the parliament weeks earlier. Dasuki, while speaking on matters of privilege during plenary, raised the alarm on the floor of the House that the gazetted copies of the bill in circulation were different from the version passed by the National Assembly.
Consequently, the Green Chamber set up a seven man panel, chaired by the chairman of the House Committee on the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muktar Betara, to investigate the allegations and report back to it for further legislative action. The minority caucus set up its own committee, headed by Ogene, to investigate the issue.
The minority caucus panel, in an interim report signed by Ogene, stated that a comparison of the version of the acts passed by the parliament and the gazetted copies indicated that Sections 29(1), 41(8)(9), 64, 3(1)(b) and 39(3) of the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, as well as Section 30(1)(d) and 30(3) of the Nigerian Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, had been altered.
The minority caucus report noted that “by comparing the Certified True Copies of the Acts released officially by the House of Representatives, as directed by the Speaker, with the gazetted version already in circulation before the alarm was raised by the House, the Minority Caucus Ad-hoc Committee can confirm thus: that there were some alterations as alleged by Hon. Dasuki on the floor of the House of Representatives, especially in the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025. There were three different versions of the documents in circulation, particularly the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025.”
Surprisingly, after the release of the report, nothing more was heard about the issue, as the parliament seemed to have conveniently swept it under the carpet, while the opposition remained mute.
It is against this backdrop that not a few are wondering whether the opposition has finally found its voice or whether this is just another play to the gallery. Analysts note that while the ranks of the opposition have depleted considerably in the last three years, with the number plummeting from 183 to 82, there is still much the caucus can do, particularly in holding the government accountable.
Therefore, all eyes will be on the minority caucus as the House reconvenes next Tuesday, to see whether it will match words with action by holding the executive to account, beginning with the poor implementation of the national budget since 2024 and other issues of concern to the Nigerian people.
Pundits say how the minority caucus, which has been lacklustre for the past three years, approaches its role as an opposition in the parliament from 7 July will determine whether it has risen from its slumber or whether it will be business as usual for the remaining 11 months of the 10th Assembly.
