*Wase, Betara, Gagdi, other Aspirants emerge C’ttee chairmen
*Hon. Bichi – Appropriations, Bamidele Salam – Public Accounts
By Christiana Ekpa
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas has announced the names of the Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen of the 134 Standing Committees for the 10th Assembly, in confirmation of Nigerian Tribune’s report.
They are: Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Chairman, Special Ad-hoc Committee on Constitution Review; Hon. Abubakar Bichi – Appropriations; Hon. Muktar Betara Aliyu – FCT; Hon. James Faleke – Finance; Hon. Amos Daniel – House Services; Hon. Bamidele Salam – Public Accounts; Hon. Adamu Tanko – Diaspora; Hon. Yusuf Gagdi – Navy; Hon. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa – Petroleum Resources (Upstream); Hon. Okonta Chris – Climate Change; Hon. Chris Ogene – Renewable Energy; Hon. Bello el-Rufai – Banking Regulations; Hon. Ibrahim Bukar-Ibrahim – NIMASA; Hon. Sada Soli – Water Resources; Hon. Hakeem Alabi – Works; Hon. Mike Etaba – Public Petitions; and Hon. Babajimi Benson – Defence; Hon. Ibori-Suenu Erhiatake- NDDC; Hon. Regina Akume – NAFDAC; Hon. Alhassan Rumrum – Air Force; Hon. Tanko Sununu – Healthcare Services; to 3
Others are: Hon. Victor Nwokolo – Petroleum Resources (Downstream); Hon. Akin Alabi – Media & Publicity; Hon. Abubakar Fulata – University Education; Hon. Wole Oke – Judiciary; Hon. Aminu Jaji – Ecological Fund; Hon. Peter Akpatason – Aviation; Hon. Leke Abejide – Customs & Excise; Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin – Foreign Affairs; Hon. Nicholas Mutu – Gas; Hon. Marian Onuoha – TetFund; Hon. Makki Yalleman – Police; Hon. Blessing Onuh – Land Transport; Hon. Wale Raji – SDGs;
The Speaker of the House, Abbas in address to the Members said
“The committee system, aptly described as little legislatures by Woodrow Wilson, plays a crucial role in legislative bodies worldwide. Indeed, it serves as the fulcrum of the Legislature due to its central role in performing the bulk of legislative responsibilities and tasks. This system involves dividing the Legislature into smaller component units or working groups, which aims to enhance efficiency, improve productivity, facilitate legislative oversight of other branches of government, promote citizens’ participation in legislation, and enable detailed scrutiny of legislative instruments such as Bills and Motions.
“Let me state unequivocally that all members of Committees have equal status and must be carried along as such. Committee Chairmen are only administrative heads who must ensure the involvement of every member in the activities of Committees. The principle of team work should guide our engagements in these committees.
“Committee Chairmen must ensure that there are functional secretariats for their respective committees. This is very crucial as the House is redefining legislative work at the Committees. All Committees are now required to submit regular reports of their activities to the leadership of the House on a quarterly basis. Investigative hearings, public hearings and reports from oversight functions have to be submitted to the House in plenary for further legislative action. Accordingly, the Committees should draw up their workplans and submit same to the Leadership of the House.
“Honourable Colleagues, our responsibilities as lawmakers require diligence, probity, transparency, dedication and commitment to national interest. I therefore, charge you to be guided by these principles even as we embark on the oversight of other arms of government. We must see the powers of oversight given to us by the Constitution as a means to promote good governance through compliance to the laws of the land.
“While urging the legislative Committees to discharge their oversight functions dispassionately, may I solicit the cooperation of the Executive arm in this regard. Separation of powers does not mean separation of government. We are one and the same government with the sole purpose of providing services to the good people of this nation. We remain committed to a harmonious working relationship with the Executive in order to deliver on the mandate of the people. However, we will not fail to bring full legislative powers to bear on recalcitrant MDAs.
“Dear Colleagues, the ‘Open NASS’ project to which this House is committed, requires that in conducting committees’ assignments, we should involve the citizens at all levels, including regular public hearings, oversight functions, investigative hearings as well as open other channels of engaging with the people at whose command, we are here.
“In keeping with our desire to build and improve the capacity of members and staff, we have established Parliamentary Friendship Committees to promote engagement, interaction, exchange programmes and peer reviews with parliaments and parliamentary associations across the globe. This will enhance knowledge sharing and improve parliamentary practices and procedures.
“Owing to the high turnover in the Legislature witnessed in the last general elections and the coming on-board of these new committees, there is an urgent need to build the capacity of Chairmen of Committees and their Deputies to prepare them for the onerous task ahead. It is in this wise that I call on the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) to immediately design a capacity building programme that will equip the leadership of our committees with the requisite knowledge and skill on committee management, oversight function, investigative hearing, public hearings and useful knowledge in this regard.
“May I, on behalf of the Selection Committee, announce the following Committees and their membership as constituted……(Here you call out the new Standing Committees).
“As I conclude, let me inform you that the House has developed a Monitoring and Evaluation framework for the performance assessment and review of committees. Accordingly, Committees will be regularly evaluated using the benchmark set out in the evaluation framework. Committees which fail to meet 70% in the evaluation will be reconstituted. In essence, there shall be no room for redundant or non-performing committees. In the light of this therefore, a Committee on Monitoring and Evaluation is one of the Committees being inaugurated today. This Committee is comprised of all the Principal Officers of the House and will be Chaired by my humble self.
“Honourable Colleagues, by the powers conferred on me by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and our Standing Rules, I hereby inaugurate the standing committees and charge you to be committed to the promotion of peace, order and good governance of our nation”
