…query why Senate President is referred to as Chairman of the National Assembly
By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected the Commander of the Federal Republic, (CFR) honour announced by President Bola Tinubu in his Independence Anniversary speech to be conferred on the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas.
The House equally called on President Bola Tinubu to confer on the office of the Speaker, the National honour of “Grand Commander Of the Order of the Niger” (GCON)insisting that the officer of the Speaker is higher than that of the Chief Justice of Nigeria who is to be conferred with GCON .
The House decisions followed the adoption of a motion moved by the deputy spokesperson of the House, Philip Agbese with 248 others during plenary in Abuj
Moving the motion, Agbese, explained that the National Assembly is constitutionally established as a bicameral legislature comprising two equal chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives, as stipulated in Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), with both chambers operating within a framework that ensures the legislative independence and equality of each.
He expressed concerns that there is an ongoing and inappropriate culture of discrimination against the House of Representatives, often portrayed as inferior to the Senate, through language that consistently refers to the Senate as the “upper chamber” and the House of Representatives as a “lower chamber.” This terminology, he said, misrepresents the legal status of both chambers and diminishes the House’s standing.
“Worried by the growing trend where the President of the Senate is referred to as the “Chairman of the National Assembly,” which inaccurately implies a hierarchical structure between the two chambers, contrary to the Constitution, and undermines the authority of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.“
