Senators across party lines have faulted the decision of President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, to create six standing committees to oversee the Ministry of Regional Development.
The senators argued that Akpabio’s plan violated the tradition of the National Assembly that allowed a specific committee to supervise a ministry or sector in order to promote accountability, prevent abuse of powers and discourage misuse of public funds.
The argument broke out last Wednesday shortly before the leadership of the Senate received Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. YU Dunhai and Deputy Head of Chinese Mission in Nigeria, Mr. Zhang Yi at the New Senate Wing.
President Bola Ahmed Tinunu had recently restructured ministries and ministerial portfolios for the purpose of optimal efficiency pursuant to his commitment to deliver on his promises to Nigerians.
As part of his restructuring exercise, the president renamed the Ministry of Nigeria Delta Development to Ministry of Regional Development to oversee the activities of all the regional development commissions.
With this renaming, President Tinubu directed that Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), North-East Development Commission (NEDC), North-West Development Commission (NWDC) South-East Development Commission (SEDC) and South-West Development Commission (SWDC) should be brought together under the Ministry of Regional Development.
The decision of the president, consequently compelled the leadership of the Senate to review the structure of its standing committees in line with the tradition of the National Assembly.
Rather than rechristened its Committee on NDDC to the Committee on Regional Development, the Senate under the leadership of Akpabio proposed to create standing committees for each of the regional development commissions.
Concerned about Akpabio’s proposal, senators across party lines strongly advised against it, noting that the proposal contravened the tradition of the National Assembly that often established each standing committee to supervise each ministry or sector.
One of the senators, who pleaded anonymity, claimed that nearly all his colleagues urged the senate president not to implement the proposal due to what he described as its frivolity
If sailed through eventually, according to him, such a decision would distract the Minister of Regional Development, Mr. Abubakar Momoh from discharging his statutory duties by the time different standing committees are inviting him for oversight purposes.
The senator claimed that creating six additional standing committees to supervise the Ministry of Regional Development “will further expose the 10th Senate to public ridicule, especially at the time of national crises when the lawmakers are expected to provide creative initiatives to these challenges.”
Another senator, who also spoke privately on the development, likened Akpabio’s decision to the politics of patronage, which according to him, was designed to appease some northern senators that insisted on impeaching sooner or later.
He revealed that almost all senators advised the senate president not to go ahead with the proposal purely to save the 10th Senate from the barrage of public criticism that would follow such a decision.
He described the proposal as ill-advised and injudicious, warning that such a proposal might even trigger the wrath of the public not just against the Senate, but also against the National Assembly.
An entirely different senator cited the case of Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), an agency under the Ministry of Works, which the National Assembly had been having difficulty in supervising for years.
He attributed the difficulty to the unavailability of the minister of works, who always sent the Managing Director of FERMA to represent before the supervisory committee due to other commitments of national significance.
While most senators asked the senate president to review his plan, others explained the implication of creating six standing committees to supervise one ministry, which according to him, might complicate the crisis of public trust currently confronting the 10th Senate.
