Parliaments all over the world are noted for setting ambitious legislative agendas that seek to encompass all social, political and economic issues of the day in order for their impact to be felt across the length and breadth of their respective nations and without doubt many nations have felt the impact of it’s legislative organs, be it on the positive and negative side as the case may be.
For instance in 1994, the U.S congress i.e the House of Representatives was taken over by the Republican Party and under the speakership of Newt Gingrich, unveiled the famous ‘Contract with America’ agenda that saw far reaching legislative, political and economic postulations that were rather too rightwing for the then Democratic President, William Jefferson Clinton, leading to an epic clash between the two organs of government heralding the infamous governmental shutdown that saw major agencies closing for business as a result of denial of funding by the U.S Congress.
Even in 1973, the American Congress cut off all funding for the Vietnam war leading to the quick withdrawal of American troops and the eventual fall of the US-backed South Vietnamese government; the war had become widely unpopular in the US as a result of the deaths of over 68,000 American soldiers while the wounded were over a million troops.
From this brief analysis, it can be deciphered that the policies and policy thrust objectives of various parliaments can have an indelible imprint on the political and economic calculus of their respective countries and it is imperative that any legislative agenda being formulated must be done in such a manner that it engenders the right ideas and indices that can lead to true national growth and development and in this regard the legislative agenda recently unveiled by the 8th House of Representatives under the leadership of Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara must be intellectually engaged and deciphered in order to unearth its wider socio-economic implications for the welfare and wellbeing of over 170 million Nigerians yearning for a better and more wholesome existence.
From the varied reactions of legislative experts, public policy analysts and civil society groups it can be conceived that the present House legislative agenda is well appointed, well researched and documents the key arenas that need to be urgently tackled for the nation to move to the next level in all material ramifications.
According to a well respected civil society group, the Legislative Policy Research Centre: “The 8th House of Representatives under the leadership of Rt Hon Yakubu Dogora must be commended for taking the revolutionary step of recommending far reaching policy initiatives that are needed to oversight the vast MDA apparatus in order to eliminate corruption, waste and inefficiency as envisaged in S.88 of the 1999 constitution.
It is gladdening that the House in pushing for this remarkable and dynamic legislative posture as it is in consonance with the previous direction of the 7th National Assembly. However, the most glaring difference is the fact that the present House Speaker, Hon Yakubu Dogara has previous in-depth experience in the oversighting of MDAs, having served effectively as chairman, committee probe of the Nigerian Customs service in 2009 and the probe of collapsed buildings and the pigmentation and segmentation of cement in 2013; probes that made far reaching recommendations in their respective sectors.
However, the political leadership of the House and indeed the National Assembly must partner coherently with the administrative leadership of NASS led by the clerk to the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa who it must be noted has made the task a lot easier by his wide ranging reforms that has repositioned, restructured and revitalised the vast NASS bureaucracy for a more responsive service delivered to the legislators and Nigerians in general.
The reforms of the committee system, pivotal to the oversighting of MDA’s by the CNA will ultimately lead to the effective partnering of the administrative and political leaderships of NASS as has been the case in the past and will doubtless lead to the successful implementation of the 8th NASS legislative agenda. Crucially, the Hon Yakubu Dogara led House of Representatives has set the ball rolling and Nigerians are in for a jolly and interesting ride which it is believed will doubtlessly culminate and transcend into a more improved, rewarding and bountiful life for all Nigerians.
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