Forty-eight members of the House of Representatives and five Senators failed to make any contributions during plenary sessions over a 12-month period, a new report has revealed.
The lawmakers did not sponsor bills, move petitions or motions, nor take part in debates between June 14, 2023, and June 13, 2024, according to the Erudite Growth and Advancement Foundation (ERGAF-Africa). The findings are contained in its Deliberative Barometer and Policy-Focus Productivity Report (NASS-DBPFR), released Thursday.
Over the period, the Senate recorded 2,275 plenary activities, with debates accounting for 663, or 29.1%. The House of Representatives logged 4,239 activities, of which 507, just 11.9 % came from debates. Bills introduced for first reading represented 15.5% of Senate business and 21% of the House’s.
Lawmakers who recorded no plenary contributions include Abubakar Baba Zango (Yola North/Yola South/Girei, Adamawa), Mohammed Inuwa Bassi (Ganye/Jada/Mayo-Belwa/Toungo, Adamawa), Nnabufie Chiwe Clara (Orumba North/Orumba South, Anambra), Abdulkadir Rahis (Maiduguri Metropolitan, Borno), Stainless Chijioke Nwodo (Aninri/Awgu/Oji River, Enugu) and Yaya Bauchi Tongo (Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye, Gombe).
Others are: Jonas Okeke, (Ehime Mbano, Imo); Adamu Yakubu (Jigawa); Ibrahim Usman (Jigawa); Sani Nazifi (Jigawa); Madawaska Dahiru (Jigawa); Yahya Richifa (Kaduna); Yusuf Bashir (Kaduna).
An analysis by sector showed that economic issues featured most prominently in Senate deliberations (18.5%), followed by security (13.7%) and education (10.9%). In the House, security topped the agenda with 16.9 per cent of discussions, trailed by economic matters (13.7%) and education (10.4 %).