On June the ninth, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari, through the Clerk of the National Assembly, proclaimed and inaugurated the eighth House of Representatives.
Parliament took off on a shaky note when an APC Legislator, Yakubu Dogara decided to defy his party’s position by contesting against the party’s anointed candidate, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Dogara won with a slim margin of 8 votes but the scramble for principal positions among various interests in and out of the lower chamber created yet another round of friction which led to rowdy sessions that disrupted legislative activities.
The intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari was the magic wand that calmed frayed nerves and Gbajabiamila became the Majority Leader.
Another round of crisis was to rear its head with Dogara’s announcement of the House standing committees.
Many of Gbajabiamila’s supporters felt short- changed and wondered why the opposition party had about the same number of committee chairmen with the majority party.
A number of them resigned membership of committees on grounds that the Speaker was vindictive
The drafting of a legislative agenda to assist the House to achieve effective legislation and a review of the Code of Conduct that would guide members’ actions were some of the steps taken to further entrench the eight House.
It is on record that the House on December the tenth, 2015 presented 130 bills and on the eve of its one year anniversary repeated the feat with the presentation of 100 bills.
Also of significance during the period under review was the 2016 Appropriation Bill laid by Buhari in December, 2015.
For about four months, the Executive and the Legislature traded blames on the composition of the budget,.
It brought about a lot of ugly incidents, including news of a missing budget and the public outcry that followed
The budget was finally assented to by the President in April.
In his anniversary speech, Dogara says the Eighth House has surpassed previous records laid in the House since 1999
The Speaker himself believes a lot more still needs to be done as the eight House begins its second of four years
Many Nigerians say they look forward to a more productive legislative year that will impact meaningfully on their lives.
By TVC News National Assembly Correspondent, Joke Adisa.
