Three years of Reps under Tajudeen: Achievements, controversies, scandals

Three years after its inauguration, the 10th House of Representatives has emerged as one of the most active, controversial and politically consequential legislative chambers in Nigeria’s democratic history.

Led by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, the 360-member House commenced proceedings on 13 June 2023 with promises to deepen legislative reforms, strengthen oversight of the executive and make the legislature more responsive to citizens’ concerns.

Since then, lawmakers have processed thousands of bills, embarked on ambitious constitutional amendment efforts, approved major economic reforms, and positioned themselves at the centre of national debates on security, taxation and governance.

Yet the period has also been characterised by fierce political battles, allegations of legislative impropriety, defections that altered the balance of power within the chamber, and persistent accusations that lawmakers have not always exercised sufficient independence from the executive.

As the Green Chamber marks its third anniversary, its record presents a complex portrait of a parliament seeking to reform governance while simultaneously confronting questions about transparency, accountability and public trust.

Inauguration to consolidation

The political environment that greeted the inauguration of the 10th House was markedly different from previous assemblies.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) entered the chamber with a comfortable majority, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) emerged as the dominant opposition force.

Other opposition parties, including the Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Social Democratic Party (SDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Young Progressives Party (YPP), collectively accounted for a significant minority presence.

Unlike previous assemblies, where party divisions often led to legislative gridlock, the Tajudeen-led House sought to project an image of inclusiveness through an ambitious Eight-Point Legislative Agenda. The agenda focused on good governance, national security, economic growth, legal reforms, social development, parliamentary openness, foreign policy engagement, and climate sustainability.

The leadership repeatedly presented the agenda as a roadmap for consensus-building in an increasingly polarised political environment.

Legislative productivity

Beyond its political engagements, the 10th House has also sought to define itself through an ambitious legislative output.

According to its leadership, within the first three years of the lower chamber of the National Assembly, lawmakers introduced 2,747 bills, of which 363 successfully passed all legislative stages, with 89 in the first session, 148 in the second, and another 126 during the just-concluded third session.

Of the total number of bills introduced since the inauguration of the Assembly, 57 are Executive bills, 95 are concurrence bills received from the Senate, and 2,595 are private members’ bills sponsored by lawmakers.

The House deliberated on 220 motions during the session. Of these, 192 were referred to standing committees for further legislative work, while 28 were assigned to ad hoc committees.

Also, 121 motions were admitted as matters of urgent public importance, while lawmakers also considered 48 public petitions submitted by citizens and organisations.

Among the most notable legislations passed by the House in its first three years are the Tax Reform Bills, the Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Amendment Bill, the National Minimum Wage Bill, the National Anthem Bill, the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, and the Electricity Act Amendment Bill.

It also passed several annual appropriation bills, supplementary appropriation bills, defence-related bills, cybercrime bills, regional development commissions bills and the Rivers State Emergency Rule resolution.

A significant number of the bills originated as Executive bills and formed part of President Bola Tinubu’s economic and governance reform agenda.

The House also played a key role in loan requests and economic reform measures that shaped the Tinubu administration’s fiscal agenda.

Parliamentary records from the first legislative year showed that Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu was the most prolific bill sponsor.

Constitution review and electoral reforms

Beyond routine lawmaking, the constitutional amendment process remains one of the most ambitious assignments undertaken by the House under the leadership of Mr Kalu, who chairs the House Committee on Constitution Review.

The reforms aimed to address longstanding governance deficiencies and strengthen democratic institutions.

At the beginning of the exercise, Mr Kalu repeatedly expressed optimism that the amendment process would be concluded in time to allow the implementation of key reforms before the 2027 general election.

The committee conducted zonal public hearings across the six geopolitical zones and received hundreds of memoranda from citizens, civil society groups, professional associations and government institutions.

Among the proposals are electoral and judicial reforms, local government autonomy, fiscal federalism measures, and the Reserved Seats for Women Bill, designed to improve female representation in legislative bodies, and security sector reforms.

One of the most significant proposals currently undergoing legislative action is the establishment of state police. The proposal seeks to decentralise policing powers and allow states to establish and manage their own police services while maintaining federal policing structures.

Supporters argue that the reform would improve responses to banditry, kidnapping, insurgency and communal conflicts. Critics argue that state governors may use state police to clamp down on their opponents.

While the House has recorded progress on several amendment proposals, some key reforms, including the reserved seats initiative, remain works in progress, underscoring the complexity of constitutional amendments, which require approval by two-thirds of both chambers of the National Assembly and endorsement by at least 24 state Houses of Assembly.

Although many proposals, including the gender bills, are still under legislative consideration, the breadth of issues under review underscores the House’s ambition to reshape Nigeria’s constitutional architecture.

Other special interventions

Recognising that insecurity remained one of the country’s most pressing challenges, the House complemented legislative efforts with broader policy engagements.

The chamber convened a National Dialogue on State Policing. It also convened broader security reform discussions involving lawmakers, security agencies, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, and policy experts, and established ad hoc committees and adopted multiple resolutions to address security failures.

One of its most notable interventions was the adoption of a comprehensive security reform resolution containing 54 recommendations.

The recommendations covered intelligence gathering, inter-agency coordination, military operations and community security frameworks.

Composition of the House

The political complexion of the House has changed considerably since its inauguration in June 2023.

At the inauguration, the APC controlled 178 seats, while the PDP held 115 seats. The Labour Party had 35 members, the NNPP 19, APGA five, while the ADC, SDP, YPP, Accord Party and Action Alliance held smaller numbers.

Apart from defections, the composition of the House was altered by court judgments that nullified some elections.

The most notable were the series of appellate court decisions that sacked several Plateau State lawmakers elected on the PDP platform following disputes over the party’s structure and nomination process.

The judgments triggered by-elections and further reshaped the numerical strength of parties within the chamber.

Perhaps no development altered the political complexion of the House more than the unprecedented wave of defections witnessed during its third legislative year.

The PDP, which began the Assembly as the principal opposition party, suffered a steady erosion of its ranks as lawmakers defected to other political platforms because of its prolonged leadership crisis. The registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) a few months ago accelerated political realignments across party lines.

By the third anniversary, the APC’s numerical strength had expanded considerably following defections from the PDP, Labour Party and other opposition parties, while the emergence of the NDC further reshaped opposition politics ahead of the 2027 general election.

The defections significantly weakened the opposition’s numerical strength and raised concerns about the shrinking space for robust legislative opposition within parliament.

Leadership stability and minority leadership changes

The 10th House has remained largely stable since its inauguration, with Speaker Abbas Tajudeen and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu retaining their positions.

However, the same cannot be said of the minority caucus. Following the resignation of Kingsley Chinda as minority leader and his defection from the PDP to the APC after securing the latter’s governorship ticket in Rivers State, his departure triggered a fresh contest for the position, splitting opposition lawmakers into rival camps.

The House eventually announced a new minority leadership team. Fred Agbedi (PDP, Bayelsa) emerged as minority leader, Abdulsamad Dasuki (ADC, Sokoto) became deputy minority leader, while Mansur Soro (APM, Bauchi) was named minority whip.

The appointments effectively reshuffled the opposition leadership and altered the composition of several standing committees.

Committee reshuffle

In 2024, the House effected a minor reshuffle of its 134 standing committees, which had been established about a year earlier.

In the exercise, Abdulmumin Jibrin, the outspoken member representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency of Kano State, was reassigned from the committee on foreign affairs to chair the committee on housing and habitat.

Osun lawmaker Oluwole Oke, who headed the judiciary committee, took over the foreign affairs committee, while Mamudu Abdullahi, from Niger State, took over the judiciary committee.

Speaker Tajudeen named Aminu Balele, an APC legislator from Katsina, as the new chair of the committee on the army. Mr Abdullahi chaired the committee on the army, while Mr Balele led the committee on housing and habitat.

The speaker had announced in July 2023 the composition of the 134 committees, the highest since 1999. His predecessor, Femi Gbajabiamila, ran the House with 110 committees.

At the time, the APC held the most chairmanship positions, 80. Also, 39 PDP lawmakers were appointed chairpersons, while six were appointed from the NNPP and six from the LP. The SDP, YPP, and ADC each got one committee chairman.

Controversies

Despite recording notable legislative achievements and undertaking several interventions on critical national issues, the House of Representatives has continued to grapple with a series of controversies that have at times overshadowed its accomplishments and raised questions about its commitment to transparency, accountability and institutional independence.

Over the past three years, several issues generated heated debates and occasionally threatened to degenerate into rowdy sessions on the floor of the House.

One of the most contentious disputes revolved around the opposition’s minority leadership.

The contest over the replacement of Mr Chinda as minority leader following his resignation triggered heated exchanges after House deputy spokesperson Philip Agbese alleged that his signature had been forged on a document endorsing Ikenga Ugochinyere for the position.

Opposition lawmakers rejected the allegation and produced video evidence they said showed Mr Agbese signing the endorsement document.

The House also witnessed intense debates over President Bola Tinubu’s tax reform programme. Beyond disagreements over the policy itself, controversy erupted when Abdulsamad Dasuki (ADC, Sokoto) alleged that versions of the tax laws published after presidential assent differed from those passed by the National Assembly.

The allegation prompted a House investigation, leading the National Assembly leadership to direct the Clerk of the National Assembly to re-gazette the Acts and issue Certified True Copies of the versions duly passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The House also found itself defending its institutional integrity following allegations by APC lawmaker Ibrahim Auyo, who claimed lawmakers paid between ₦1 million and ₦3 million to process bills, motions and petitions.

The House leadership strongly rejected the claims, describing them as unsubstantiated and inconsistent with parliamentary procedures.

The matter prompted calls for investigation, while civil society groups demanded greater transparency in legislative operations.

Another major point of contention was the approval of an emergency rule in Rivers State in March 2025. Tensions boiled over on the floor of the House even before sessions began, with some lawmakers, including Marie Ebikake (Bayelsa) and Blessing Amadi (Rivers), engaging in shouting matches over the crisis.

The chamber also witnessed disagreements over budget allocations, constituency projects, oversight findings and the growing wave of defections from opposition parties, all of which fuelled recurring debates about transparency, accountability and the independence of the legislature.

Moments of grief

The deaths of Deputy Chief Whip Oriyomi Onanuga (APC, Ikenne/Shagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency of Ogun State), Isa Dogonyaro (APC, Garki/Babura Federal Constituency of Jigawa State), Abdulkadir Danbuga (APC, Isa/Sabon Birni Federal Constituency of Sokoto State), Olaide Akinremi (APC, Ibadan North Federal Constituency of Oyo State) and Yaya Tongo (APC, Kaltungo/Shongom Federal Constituency of Gombe State) at different times threw the lower chamber into a mourning mood.

The losses created vacancies, triggered bye-election processes and prompted tributes from lawmakers across party lines who described the deceased legislators as dedicated public servants.

Valedictory sessions held in their honour transcended party affiliations and provided rare moments of unity in an often polarised political environment.

Differing assessments

Assessments of the House’s performance vary sharply depending on who is asked.

Philip Agbese, the deputy spokesperson of the House, argued that the 10th session has distinguished itself through unprecedented legislative productivity, robust oversight and citizen engagement.

According to him, lawmakers introduced more than 2,200 bills and passed hundreds into law, while conducting over 1,000 committee meetings and more than 300 oversight visits.

“The 10th House of Representatives, under Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas has recorded remarkable achievements since its inauguration. In three years, it has introduced over 2,200 bills, passed hundreds into law, and strengthened oversight through extensive committee work and site visits,” Mr Agbese told PREMIUM TIMES in an interview.

He cited landmark legislation, including the Student Loan Act, electricity reforms, tax reforms, defence-related laws and cybercrime legislation, as evidence of the House’s impact on governance.

Mr Agbese also defended the pace of constitutional amendments, noting that reforms such as the Reserved Seats for Women Bill and other constitutional alteration proposals must pass through rigorous approval processes involving both the National Assembly and state legislatures.

“What distinguishes the 10th House is its unprecedented legislative volume, transparency initiatives, robust oversight, collaborative approach, and people-centred focus,” he said.

Mr Agbese expressed confidence that the House would accelerate constitutional reforms, strengthen budget oversight and continue pursuing people-oriented legislation in the remaining year of its tenure.

However, civil society groups offer a more cautious assessment.

The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Rafsanjani, acknowledged the House’s legislative productivity but argued that quantity alone should not be the measure of success.

“Legislative output should not be measured solely by the quantity of bills passed but by their quality, inclusiveness, implementation and impact on citizens’ lives,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Rafsanjani noted that while the House had advanced constitutional reforms, conducted investigations and engaged stakeholders on various policy issues, many oversight hearings failed to translate into meaningful sanctions, institutional reforms or accountability measures.

He identified the advancement of constitutional review, legislative activity, engagement with civil society groups, and attention to governance reforms as among the House’s achievements.

However, he also highlighted what he described as weak implementation of oversight findings, limited transparency in constituency projects and budget implementation, concerns over legislative independence, insufficient citizen participation in lawmaking, and inadequate responses to worsening insecurity and economic hardship.

According to him, the House must strengthen its role as a check on executive power, improve the implementation of oversight recommendations, deepen transparency, and prioritise reforms that can directly improve governance outcomes and citizens’ welfare.

“Ultimately, the true measure of the House’s performance will not be the number of bills passed or motions adopted, but its ability to advance accountability, protect democratic institutions, improve governance outcomes, and respond effectively to the needs and aspirations of Nigerians,” Mr Rafsanjani said.

Verdict at three years

Three years into its tenure, the 10th House of Representatives remains a study in contrasts.

It has been energetic yet controversial, productive yet frequently criticised, reform-minded yet repeatedly accused of insufficient independence from the executive.

The chamber has pursued ambitious constitutional reforms, processed major economic legislation and expanded oversight activities. At the same time, it has grappled with defections, internal power struggles, allegations of impropriety and growing public scepticism.

As lawmakers enter the final stretch before the 2027 elections, the defining question is no longer whether the House has been active. The question is whether its activism will translate into lasting institutional reforms and measurable improvements in governance.

The answer may ultimately determine how history remembers the 10th House of Representatives.