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 %).

Barau Jibrin, the deputy Senate President made the most debate contributions in the upper chamber with 38 interventions, while Julius Ihonvbere, thebHouse Majority Leader led in the lower chamber with 26.

On substantive motions, Michael Opeyemi, the Senate Leader ranked first with 10, while Ihonvbere also topped the House with 12.

For petitions, Senator Ngwu Osita submitted the most in the upper chamber with three, while Okey Onuakalusi, representing Oshodi-Isolo federal constituency in Lagos, led the House with 14. On points of order, Opeyemi and Ali Ndume of Borno South shared the lead in the Senate with six each, while Borno?s Ahmed Jaha recorded the highest in the House, also with six.

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This report was deisgned to serves as a vital policy instrument to restore robust legislative deliberations, foster participatory governance, and ensure that legislators remain accountable to the people they represent. (BusinessDay)

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