* says Chibok girls’ abduction has injured Nigeria’s pride
Teddy Oscar, Abuja
The speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has assured Nigerians that the 7th House of Representatives would not disappoint in “its sacred duty to provide robust checks and balances to executive action”.
Tambuwal made the pledge in an address he delivered on the floor of the House chambers on Thursday to mark the end of the 3rd session of the 7th House.
He particularly observed that there are external plans to frustrate the House in its efforts to exercise its constitutional mandate.
“Strangely, the collective experience of our members in the course of their exercise of their oversight functions is that there is a growing culture of impunity on the part of public officers in Nigeria, which makes them inclined to resist the ethos of accountability.
“Some hesitate to honour their invitation to appear before the House, while others resort to litigation in an attempt to frustrate legislative oversight of their activities.
“I wish to assure Nigerians that the House of Representatives will not be intimidated into abdicating its sacred duty to provide robust checks and balances to executive action, especially for the purpose of exposing corruption in the polity and of ensuring the judicious management of our common wealth,” he pledged.
While lamenting the growing insecurity in Nigeria, Tambuwal noted that the challenge of insecurity is, by far, the most disturbing challenge to the nation at this time.
He regretted the “sad, unfortunate and callous abduction of the Chibok girls”.
The action, according to him, has not only greatly injured Nigeria’s pride, but has “attracted unwanted global attention and global scorn” for Nigeria.
“By far the most disturbing challenge to our nation at this time is the challenge of insecurity. The spiraling spate of insecurity occasioned by mindless violence and brutality by Boko Haram insurgents and terrorists has stretched our mental and emotional resistance to unacceptable limits.
“On Tuesday, 11th March, 2014, on a day we designated to mourn the dastardly act of the murder by Boko Haram of dozens students peacefully asleep in their beds in Government Secondary School, Buni Yadi, Yobe State. I delivered a speech in this honourable House in which I lamented the failure of the Nigerian state to protect its young and vulnerable citizens.
“Sadly, the Buni Yadi horror turned out to be only the beginning of more horrors. Since the Buni Yadi attack, Nigerians have been subjected to more terrorist attacks of increasing brazenness and brutality. We have witnessed bomb attacks on Nyanya in Abuja, in Kano, in Jos, and of course in the frontline states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.
“And then, on the night of 14th April, 2014, the nation was visited with a most excruciating nightmare from which it is yet to awaken. On that night, in Chibok, Borno State, more than 200 school girls were abducted from their dormitories by Boko Haram terrorists and have been held in callous captivity ever since. Can we even imagine the horrible deprived life that these poor children have been living in captivity? Can we begin to imagine the pain that has been wracking the souls of the parents of these children since their abduction?
“The sad, unfortunate and callous abduction of the Chibok girls has greatly injured our national pride and attracted for Nigeria unwanted global attention and global scorn. Once again, the attack on our innocent children on their school calls into question our credential as a nation that takes care of its citizens and our capacity as a government to perform the very basic constitutional duty of safeguarding the security and welfare of our people.
“It is now almost two months since the kidnap of the Chibok girls. We must ask ourselves in this chamber whether we have done all that is in our power to ensure the release or rescue of these poor innocent girls of Chibok,” he said.
He also used the occasion of the third anniversary to lend his voice to the ‘BringBackOurGirls’ vanguard.
“But this House must not limit itself to the slogan of #BringBackOurGirls. We must come up with imaginative ideas not only to bring back these girls alive and well, but to protect other children of Nigeria against such trauma in the future,” he added.
While assessing the legislative performance of the House in the last session, Tambuwal observed that the House recorded a modest achievement.
“On legislation, a total of 169 bills were introduced during the Session, of which 46 passed second reading and 27 were subsequently passed into law. Six more bills have been laid on the table and are awaiting the action of the Committee of the Whole. In addition to the bills, several motions on matters of national importance were passed during the session,” he said.
On the challenges of the budgetary process, Tambuwal hinted that: “The problem, which the House experienced in the budgetary process emanated from several factors, including the entrenched culture of lateness in budget preparation and submission to the National Assembly by the executive branch.”
