NASS costs treasury N2.389tr in 24 years

NASS costs treasury N2.389tr to pass 810 bills

By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor

A total 810 bills were passed by the National Assembly (NASS) between 1999  and 2022 at a cost of N2.389 trillion to the treasury, with the amount budgeted to rise to N2.618 trillion at the end of the 2023 financial year.

The NASS comprises 109 Senators in the Upper Chamber and 360 House of Representatives members in the Lower Chamber.

The N2.618 trillion is 5.56 per cent of the N145.516 trillion appropriated by the federal government since the country returned to civil rule 24 years ago.

Lawmaking or passing bills is the primary duty of the NASS, the symbol of democracy, but it performs other functions such as oversight on the other two arms of government, especially the executive, and passing motions and resolutions.

If the N2.389 trillion NASS allocation is divided by the 810 bills passed since 1999, it means a bill cost N294.938 million.

It also means Nigeria lost N2.388 trillion plus hundreds of hours lawmakers put into creating the 406 bills former President Muhammadu Buhari refused to sign into law in his eight years in the Villa, and which the NASS could not use two-thirds majority to override as constitutionally provided.

In the 4^th NASS (1999-2003), the Senate passed 65 bills, the House of Representatives 112 bills, but the two Chambers had concurrence on 65.

There was improvement in the 5^th NASS (2003-2007) when 129 bills were passed (see table below), according to investigation by Vanguard.

The figure nose dived to 72 bills in the 6^th NASS (2007-2011), rose to 128 in the 7th NASS (2011-2015), and to a record 282 in the 8^th NASS (2015-2019), then dipped to 134 bills in the 9^th NASS (2019-2023).

The 9^th NASS would have had more bills to its credit but for the refusal of Buhari to sign some bills into law and the unwillingness of lawmakers to override him in what critics described as a rubber-stamp NASS.

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Bill passed by Senate, House of Reps

The 9^th House of Representatives processed 2,232 bills and passed 510 bills and 2000 motions, per Vanguard.

The 9^th Senate as of 10 June 2023 considered 1,129 bills and passed more than 500 according to former Senate President Ahmad Lawan.

Buhari signed 131 bills into law.

Within three weeks of assuming office on May 29, President Bola Tinubu assented to three bills passed by the 9th NASS:

• The “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Fifth Alteration) (No.37) Bill, 2023”, which extends the retirement age of high court Judges and others from 65 to 70 years.

• The Electricity Bill 2023 the NASS passed in July 2022, which replaces the Electricity and Power Sector Reform Act of 2005.

• The Student’s Loan (Access to Higher Education) Bill sponsored in 2019 by former Reps Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, now Chief of Staff to Tinubu.

Altogether, 134 bill passed by 9^th NASS were signed into law.

The 10th NASS inaugurated on June 13 kicked-off with a war chest of N228.1 billion in the 2023 budget.

Budgetary allocations to NASS since 1999

          Year        federal budget        NASS budget

• 1999        N524 billion          N2.204 billion
• 2000        N702 billion          N9.458billion

• 2001        N894.2 billion       N15.488 billion
• 2002        N1.064 trillion       N28.162 billion

• 2003         N1.446 trillion      N23.347 billion
• 2004         N1.189 trillion      N34.727 billion

• 2005         N1.8 trillion          N55.433 billion
• 2006         N1.9 trillion          N45.0 billion

• 2007          N2.3 trillion         N60.0 billion
• 2008          N3.58 trillion       N73.741 billion

• 2009          N3.76 trillion       N123.192 billion
• 2010          N5.160 trillion     N154.205 billion

• 2011          N4.972 trillion     N150.0 billion
• 2012          N4.877 trillion     N150.0 billion

• 2013          N4.987 trillion     N150.0 billion
• 2014          N4.962 trillion     N150.0 billion

• 2015          N5.068 trillion     N227.0 billion
• 2016          N6.061 trillion     N115.0 billion

• 2017          N7.444 trillion     N125.0 billion
• 2018          N9.12 trillion       N139.5 billion

• 2019          N8.916 trillion     N148.680 billion
• 2020          N10.27 trillion     N128 billion

• 2021          N14.57 trillion     N128 billion
• 2022          N18.12 trillion     N134 billion

• 2023          N21.83 trillion     N228.1 billion

          Total          N145.516 trillion N2.618 trillion

Number of bills passed by NASS since 1999

• 4th NASS (1999-2003) – 65
• 5th NASS (2003-2007) – 129
• 6th NASS (2007-2011) – 72
• 7th NASS (2011-2015) – 128
• 8th NASS (2015-2019) – 282
• 9th NASS (2019-2023) – 134

                          Total – 810