All may not have been too well between the Senate and the House of Representatives. This is considering the recent complaint by Speaker Tajudeen Abass alleging the Senate’s refusal to give concurrent approval to most bills already passed by the House. The comment highlights power dynamics and perceived slights that can impede the smooth lawmaking processes between Nigeria’s bicameral legislatures.

In a presidential system, which Nigeria operates, the Senate is designed to represent states equally to provide a more deliberative function in the lawmaking process, while the House of Representatives has more members, representing the population more proportionally, with members elected from smaller districts. Thus, as currently constituted, the Senate has 109 members as against the 360-member House of Representatives.

These two chambers are not merely redundant; they are designed to complement each other in various ways, including checks and balances and thorough scrutiny of bills. This is to ensure that legislation undergoes a more rigorous and thorough review process. A bill passed by one chamber must then be approved by the other, providing a second look and reducing the chances of hasty or ill-conceived laws.

Additionally, the two-chamber structure acts as a check on potential excesses of either chamber or the executive. Even if one chamber is dominated by a particular party or interest, the other chamber can provide a check. For a bill to become law, both chambers must agree on its exact wording. This necessitates negotiation, compromise, and consensus-building through committees. That way, it ensures that a broader range of interests and perspectives are considered in lawmaking.

In essence, the two-chamber structure in Nigeria’s presidential system is designed to promote thoughtful legislation, ensure broad representation, and provide a critical system of checks and balances within the legislative branch itself, complementing each other’s functions for effective governance.

The looming cold war or crisis of confidence between the Senate leadership and its counterpart in the House of Representatives is, however, a troubling concern for most Nigerians, as it can impede the smooth passage of bills. Abass, in his comment, had expressed frustration over the large number of bills passed by the House that were yet to receive concurrence approval from the Senate. He specifically stated that 146 bills passed by the House of Representatives were currently awaiting consideration and concurrence in the Senate. He expressed dismay that some of these bills, including more than 10 personally sponsored by him, had been pending in the Senate for over six months without attention. This situation, according to him and other members of the House, indicates a “one-sided legislative collaboration” and a lack of reciprocity from the Senate.

As a result of this perceived delay and disregard, the House of Representatives threatened to suspend further consideration of bills originating from the Senate until the Red Chamber demonstrates a commitment to addressing the backlog of House bills.

The Senate, in response, however, denied these claims, asserting that it is giving due diligence to bills from the House and had recently passed several concurrence bills. This ongoing friction between the two chambers of the National Assembly poses a challenge to the legislative process and the timely passage of laws. List of House of Representatives Bills Nigerian Senate is yet to give concurrence approval includes bills establishing new federal institutions (specialized universities, colleges, hospitals), bills amending existing acts to improve governance, provide for new regulations, or streamline processes, bills relating to economic reforms or social welfare, and bills addressing security challenges.

Speaker Abbas and the House of Representatives accuse the Senate of consistently failing to act on bills that have originated from and been passed by the House. This means these bills are essentially stuck in the Senate, unable to complete the legislative process. Reports indicate that as many as 146 bills passed by the House are currently awaiting concurrence in the Senate. These include over 10 bills personally sponsored by him, with some pending for more than six months.

The House feels that It often gives prompt attention to bills originating from the Senate, but the reciprocity is not extended by the Red Chamber. This creates a feeling that the Senate is intentionally hindering the legislative process for House-originated bills. According to Abbas, this one-sided legislative collaboration diminishes the overall productivity and effectiveness of the entire National Assembly, as many legislative efforts by the House essentially lead nowhere.

The Senate, in Its defence, emphasises the principle of due diligence, stating that they have a duty to properly scrutinize all bills, which takes time, and that concurrence doesn’t necessarily mean garbage in, garbage out. They maintain their commitment to working effectively with the House in the interest of Nigeria.

Regardless of the argument for and against this inter-chamber friction, a lack of harmony between the two chambers can significantly affect the overall interest of the country, as it can delay or kill important bills that could address critical national issues. The continued face-off may also fuel animosity and mistrust between the two arms of the legislature, which ideally should be working collaboratively. This can ultimately affect the executive’s ability to implement new laws and policies, as necessary legislation remains stuck.

A former duty governor of Ogun State, Senator Sefiu Gbenga Kaka, who represented Ogun East Senatorial District between 2011 and 2015, in an interview with Sunday Sun, highlighted the details’of the workings of legislative processes between the two chambers. He emphasised that fewer number of legislators at the Upper Chamber meant that there must be a thorough scrutiny of the bills emanating from the House of Representatives before they could be passed into law. Rather than raising unnecessary eyebrow, he urged the leadership of the two Houses to cooperate together in the interest of the nation.

He said: “I don’t know where the complaint is coming from. The House Speaker is a very pleasant person, at least, the little I know of him. He is ever ready to carry the House members along in whatever he is doing. So, I don’t see any reason for him complaining when he can easily meet with the top echelon of the Senate and iron out whatever differences they have.

“The number of people in the House of Representatives is 360 and 109 in the Senate. That means there is an opportunity for a deeper look into any bill presented in the Senate than in the House of Representatives. There can not be thorough scrutiny of bills in the House of Representatives as much as it is in the Senate. The House may rush to pass a bill, it must be assented to by the Senate after a thorough job has been done. Even before the concurrent approval, there is always a sort of harmonization between the committee of the Senate and that of the House of Representatives. So, the slow pace of the passage of the bills may be from that angle.

“In any event, it is not certain that all the bills passed by the House of Representatives will be passed by the Senate. The overall interest of the nation is put into consideration in passing any proposed bill.

“The normal practice is for the executives of both chambers to have a meeting point. The committees of both sides have a meeting point. It is at that meeting point that harmonisation is done.

“Don’t also forget that the President has the right not to assent to any bill that is not worth its salt.”

Senator Anthony Adeniyi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who represented Ekiti State in the 7th National Assembly, gave a constitutional perspective of the looming friction, saying either of the two chambers can approach the court for intervention, if necessary.

Speaking with Sunday Sun in a telephone chat, he expressed concern for the needless controversy. “It is not a good development,” he said.

He lamented: “Honestly, I don’t know what is happening between the two leaderships. The two chambers must cooperate in their lawmaking activities. If the allegation is true, it is a dereliction of duty on the part of the Senate. However, they have denied it.”

Asked about the position of the law on the matter, he said: “If either of the two chambers feels strongly about any bill not given concurrent approval to, the leadership can go to court.

“Issues concerning passage of bill is not an internal affair of the National Assembly, it is a dereliction of duty. Once a bill is sent to the Senate, they must by force look into it. By constitutional provision, the two chambers must cooperate to pass a bill.”

The current perceived face-off between the two chambers is not an isolated case. Since 1999, the National Assembly has experienced numerous face-offs and conflicts between the Senate and the House of Representatives which are sometimes seen as part of a nascent democracy’s learning curve, but often driven by deeper issues.

Part of the reasons for the recurring dismal is the perceived superiority contest between the two Chambers. Despite the Nigerian Constitution placing both chambers on equal footing in the lawmaking process, there’s an ongoing, often subtle, tussle over which chamber is superior. The Senate is sometimes referred to as the upper chamber and the House as the lower chamber, which the House often protests as demeaning and unconstitutional. For instance, disputes over the order of precedence in official protocols or during joint sessions have occurred. Recently, there was a controversy over national honours awarded to the Senate President and the Speaker, with the House protesting the Speaker receiving a lower rank.

Sometimes, jurisdictional disputes and overlapping powers can result to dispute. While the Constitution outlines distinct and complementary roles, there are instances where both chambers feel they have primary jurisdiction over certain matters, leading to disputes. This is particularly common with specific provisions in budget bills (appropriation bills) often requiring conference committees to reconcile differences.

While conflicts can stem from genuine policy differences, analysts often point to the pursuit of private interests, personal ego, and sectional interest as underlying drivers of feuds between the two chambers in Nigeria, even when the same political party controls both.

Beyond the present scenario, the National Assembly has a well-documented history of inter-chamber face-offs, with the current dispute over bill concurrence being the latest manifestation of these recurring challenges. (Sunday Sun)