Forty-eight members of the house of representatives and five senators made no contributions during plenary in 12 months — whether by sponsoring bills, moving petitions or motions, or participating in debates, according to a report by the Erudite Growth and Advancement Foundation (ERGAF-Africa).
The report, titled ‘Deliberative Barometer and Policy-Focus Productivity Report (NASS-DBPFR)’, tracked the plenary performance of lawmakers in the national assembly between June 14, 2023, and June 13, 2024 — the first year of the current 10th assembly.
The document was released on Thursday.
The senate logged a total of 2,275 plenary activities during the period, with 663 — representing 29.1 percent — coming from debates.
In comparison, the house of representatives recorded 4,239 activities, out of which 507 (11.9 percent) were debate contributions.
According to the report, bills introduced for first reading made up 15.5 percent of senate activities and 21 percent of those in the house.
A breakdown by sector showed that economic matters dominated the senate’s discussions (18.5 percent), followed by security (13.7 percent) and education (10.9 percent).
The house, on the other hand, concentrated more on security (16.9 percent), the economy (13.7 percent), and education (10.4 percent).
In terms of debate interventions, Barau Jibrin, deputy senate president, ranked highest in the senate with 38, while Julius Ihonvbere, the house majority leader, led his chamber with 26 contributions.
On substantive motions, Michael Opeyemi, senate leader, filed the most in the upper chamber with 10, while Ihonvbere also topped the house with 12.
For petitions, Ngwu Osita submitted the highest in the senate with three, while Okey Onuakalusi of Lagos’ Oshodi-Isolo federal constituency led the house with 14.
On points of order, Opeyemi and Ali Ndume of Borno south tied at the top in the senate with six each, while Ahmed Jaha, also from Borno, led the house with six.
Some of the lawmakers without plenary contributions include Abubakar Baba Zango (Yola North/Yola south/Girei, Adamawa), Mohammed Inuwa Bassi (Ganye/Jada/Mayo-Belwa/Toungo, Adamawa), Nnabufie Chiwe Clara (Orumba north/Orumba south, Anambra), Abdulkadir Rahis (Maiduguri Metropolitan, Borno), Stainless Chijioke Nwodo (Aninri/Awgu/Oji River, Enugu), and Yaya Bauchi Tongo (Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye, Gombe).
You can download the report here.
