Politics
As Senate, House differ on National Assembly finances
The declaration by the House of Representatives last month that the National Assembly is broke and the decision of the Senate to fault the claim is generating an interesting discourse among keen watchers of the country’s political development, SUNDAY ABORISADE and LEKE BAIYEWU write
The House of Representatives courted the wrath of Nigerians last month when it declared that the nation’s apex legislative institution was broke and demanded additional funds to enable it to carry out its functions effectively to the country.
The Senate, in what appears to be a case of damage control, following heavy backlash on the social media, denied the position of the House of Representatives, claiming that the two chambers were being adequately funded.
However, the House stood its ground and insisted that the paucity of funds had made the working environment not conducive for lawmakers while they had not been able to carry out their legislative activities to the best of their ability.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, stirred the hornet nest a few weeks ago when he declared for the umpteenth time that the National Assembly was broke.
The National Assembly had a budget of N139.5bn in 2018, N125bn in 2019 and N128bn (N125bn proposed, N3bn added) in 2020. While the sum of N125bn was proposed for the National Assembly in 2021, it later got N134bn along with its affiliates.
Kalu was asked if it was true that the House reduced the number of days lawmakers sit for plenary per week – from three days to one and recently two – to cut costs. He said it was for safety reasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The House’ spokesman, however, said the parliament was ‘broke’ still.
Kalu said, “Yes, the House is ‘broke,’ I have said it before and I am saying it again and I am not afraid to say it. The House is ‘broke’ and it is afraid to appropriate the sufficient amount for them to do their job.
“The House is broke and is afraid of your complaints as Nigerians to make provision for what will make them run the activities of the House effectively.
“That is why today, here is hot; that is why the hearing rooms are not fixed; that is why the house is indebted to contractors who provide one form of service or the other. This is the fact.
“Nigerians must be made to know that the appropriation that was made for the running of the National Assembly, which happened when naira was 160 to the dollar, is less now than what it used to be.
“The dollar equivalent of naira today has gone up to over N400. The purchasing power of the budget, as it is now, is weaker than it was 10 years ago.
“The budget of the National Assembly is supposed to be reviewed, in view of its purchasing ability of the services that will help the parliament to move forward. At the moment, it is a weak budget and that is the truth.
“I have actually fought with the leadership of the House and I have asked the question, ‘Why are you afraid to raise the budget of the National Assembly that will enable us to conduct our services efficiently and effectively?’
“We appropriate for agencies to run effectively, yet we are in penury to our own constitutional mandate. It is a disservice to Nigerians; the poor budget of the parliament is a disservice to Nigerians.”
According to Kalu, parliaments and parliamentarians in other climes spend more funds, making them perform better.
He said, “Let us be fair in our analogy; let us wear the right spectacles when we analyse and you will find out that this N128bn of the National assembly, that is divided among all the agencies of the National Assembly; that is divided among all the staff – over 3,000 to 6,000 members of staff; that is divided among all the aides, five aides per lawmaker.
“Sometimes, people wonder if we really need those aides. How do you think we will function by making good laws? You need seasoned experts to work for you.
“If you go to America, you will see professors who are consulting and working directly with members of the parliament.
“That is why when they come out with their laws, bills and motions; they are what address the problems of the country. But can we afford that as we are? The answer is no, we cannot.
“So, if you ask me 20 times, whether the National Assembly is broke, until they improve the budget of the National Assembly, I will say, ‘Yes, we are broke.’”
It was not the first time Kalu would lament the paucity of funds at the National Assembly.
The House’ spokesman had on February 9, 2021, said pressure being mounted by Nigerians on members of the National Assembly was “killing” them.
He had added that Nigerians did not understand the functions of a parliament, making them erroneously make demands from lawmakers and have expectations beyond their primary responsibilities.
Kalu, at a press conference, had described the National Assembly as one of the poorest, perhaps in Africa or in the world.
He said this in response to a question on whether the lawmakers had been compromised due to the failure by its various standing and ad hoc committees to turn in their reports on several probes.
He said, “As per being compromised, it is very painful that that word keeps coming out. You know that if this parliament has been compromised, you will see it. This is one of the poorest parliaments.
You don’t see them (lawmakers) living in luxury. Compromised with what? Positions or money or what?
“These guys (lawmakers) here are suffering; these guys are under stress. That is why most of the illnesses they are passing through – heart attack, this failure, that failure – are due to stress from their constituents. That is the truth and the truth must be told. Whether you try to understand it or not, let the press know this: the pressure from the constituents is killing members of the National Assembly. That is the truth.
“The pressure is too much! The pressure is too much!! People are receiving a lot of pressure on even issues that do not concern them. The pressure that is coming from the constituents is way out of the scope.
“Those who are not supposed to build roads are asked to build roads. Those who are not supposed to build hospitals are asked to build hospitals.
“So, most of the members of the National Assembly are under great pressure. And the resources for them to meet these expectations from the public are not there.
“People don’t want to hear this but I must tell you the truth; that the members of the parliament are under pressure.
“I don’t care how you go and report it; it is the truth. This is the truth, you can report it however you want to. I’m telling you that members of the National Assembly don’t have the kind of money and resources you say they have. And the pain that is being inflicted on them is affecting most of them.”
Kalu, however, said, “Despite the pressure, we will continue to do our job. We must do it; that is what we signed for. As per the pressure, it is much.
“Many people misunderstand what is happening with the parliament. And some of the members who don’t know how to explain to their constituents carry this pressure with them (lawmakers), with little resources, and it weighs them down.”
He asked, “Do you know that members of the National Assembly spend their private money to take care of constituents? But the constituents feel that the money they are being given is from the Federal Government. It is coming from the representatives’ pocket and this is killing them.
“Go and ask any of the National Assembly members, from the Senate to the House, nobody is finding it easy. But we will keep pushing on because this is a national service. We are competent enough to carry the pressure and that is why we are here.”
However, the Spokesperson for the Senate, Dr Ajibola Basiru, said the National Assembly, being on first line charge, was neither broke nor experiencing cash crunch.
He said, “The National Assembly is on first line charge and the story of cash crunch in the National Assembly is a figment of the writer’s imagination.
“The National Assembly as far as I am concerned does not owe its staff, salaries. The management does not also owe any lawmaker.
“It is totally wrong to say that the National Assembly is relying on the ministries, departments and agencies to fund its committee works. If that is the case, that will even be a conflict of interest.
“The National Assembly does not rely on the MDAs to fund our activities. We have the budget for our committees and oversight.
“Also, when there are specific needs in terms of consultancy services or special travels to do our jobs, the bureaucracy supports such assignment. It does not make sense to rely on the same MDAs.
“There is no senator or member of the House of Representatives that can come out and say he or she has not been paid.”
When our correspondent asked Basiru why he was insisting that the nation’s Parliament was not broke contrary to the position of his counterpart on the House, he said, “please direct your questions to the person who said that.”
Basiru said, “I have said it and I am repeating it again that the National Assembly is not broke and we are being funded to carry out our oversight functions and committee works.”
But the Campaign for Democracy hit hard at the National Assembly for demanding more funding.
The Secretary General of the CD, Ifeanyi Odili, said the federal Parliament offended many Nigerians when it cried out that it was broke.
He said, “It is appalling and extremely annoying for both members of the NASS to complain of the paucity of funds. The paucity of funds, for which purpose? What are they doing at the hallowed chambers that make them to be entitled to N134bn in every fiscal year?
“I felt bad when I heard the news that members of the House of Representatives are complaining of lack of funds. If they are sharing among themselves N134bn annually and are complaining, what do they want Nigerians who are on less than a dollar per day do?
“Their complaint came at a time when Nigerians are saying they have failed the nation. In every facet of our national life, members of NASS have failed woefully. “There is kidnapping, terrorism, and evil occurrences all over the place unchecked.
“It is an affront on Nigerians for the members of NASS to complain of funds because they are doing nothing, and are less bothered about what happens to the poor masses.
“Whereas, these guys were not unknown to Nigerians as people who truly needed fiscal and physical rehabilitation before their emergence at the NASS.
“Apart from this, because of what they call little money, N134bn annually, there is real agitation CD has embarked on concerning the money sinking down into NASS every year.
“The CD is of the opinion that the status of members of the NASS should be at the same status as that of the Permanent Secretary in the civil service.
“We are saying that their positions should be less attractive because we have so many areas we should channel our national patrimony to.
“Some of these members of NASS do not have good roads network in their respective states. Across Nigeria, there are no good roads, no sound health facility, our security agencies are poorly remunerated, hence poor policing is the result.
“Finally, their request is ill-conceived, unnecessary and uncalled for, lacking the true spirit and sense of nationalism. It portrays them as a group of squanderers, who are out to squander and loot our nation to its marrow.”.
Also, the President of Women Arise, Joe Okei-Odumakin, said the National Assembly was insensitive to the plight of suffering Nigerians by complaining about funds paucity.
Okei-Odumakin said, “The reality is that such argument emanating from the nation’s legislature at this crucial moment of national austerity is quite insensitive.
“ This is because the availability of fund or otherwise in the purse of the National Assembly, has no direct bearing as such, on the lives of the ordinary citizens.
“The huge fund always allocated annually to our legislators, is used to service their personal needs and advance individual political fortunes.
“I strongly feel, that will be of more concern, to the average Nigerian, rather than if the National Assembly has enough money in its purse or not.”
By Okey Maduforo Awka
The former member that represented Anambra East and West Federal Constituency Chief Chinedu Obidigwe has denied a social media handle where he was said to have made Prof Charles Soludo the Governor of Anambra state.
Obidigwe further stated that the report did neither emanate from him or from his Media Aides urging the party not to believe what he called attempt at setting a negative agenda in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
Obidigwe who is an Aspirant of the party for the Anambra East and West Federal Constituency accused enemies of the party being sponsored by opposition parties to creat problems .
According to the Media Assistant to Obidigwe Mr Dominic Okagbue in a statement;
“The attention of Hon. Chinedu Benjamin Obidigwe has been drawn to misleading and unfounded claims/propaganda being circulated on various social media platforms through a pseudo account, alleging that Obidigwe said he installed the Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR, as Governor in 2021”
“We wish to state, without any iota of equivocation, that such a statement never emanated from Hon. Chinedu Obidigwe. It is a desperate move by his political enemies who are bent on tarnishing his image as a tool and technique to advance their unmerited aspirations”
“Obidigwe, in 2021, was merely an electorate with just one vote. Even though he voted for the Governor and APGA, the question remains: can one man’s vote make a Governor?”
“Governor Soludo was elected and made Governor through the collective votes of Ndi Anambra, both in his first and second terms. We therefore call on the reading public to disregard such rumours and treat them as faceless and unfounded allegations geared towards the character assassination of an innocent man” he said.
A former Kano State Governor and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Rabiu Kwankwaso, says northern political leaders conducted a deliberate assessment of potential allies before settling on Peter Obi as the most capable partner to prosecute the 2027 presidential campaign.
He dismissed concerns about a hidden power struggle between his camp and Obi’s.Politics
Kwankwaso made the disclosure in an interview on Arise TV on Monday, offering one of his most detailed accounts yet of how the North-Southeast political alliance within the NDC was formed.
“I looked around together with our leadership in the north to say, okay, who do we think is capable? Who can come and work together with us honestly so that we can move this country? Along the line, we realised that Peter Obi is at the forefront of it. That’s why we all accepted to work together,” he said.Political candidate profile
Kwankwaso, a two-term former governor of Kano State and the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party in 2023, leads the Kwankwasiyya movement, a grassroots political force with deep loyalty across Kano and parts of northern Nigeria.Nigeria travel guide
He left the NNPP amid internal disputes before joining the NDC alongside Obi earlier this month.
Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, ran on the Labour Party platform in 2023 and drew massive youth-driven support across the South and urban centres, though he did not win.
Both men formally joined the NDC on Sunday, May 3, defecting from the crisis-hit African Democratic Congress.Politics
At the party’s national convention on Saturday in Abuja, Kwankwaso backed the NDC’s decision to zone its 2027 presidential ticket to the South, describing it as a step toward fairness, healing and national cohesion.
Responding to a question about whether the alliance concealed a quiet rivalry between both camps, Kwankwaso argued that friction between principals and their deputies was a product of greed, not structural tension.
“The problem people are having, especially leaders, is that they are too greedy to the extent that they begin to have issues. There is so much to do. You don’t have to fight your deputy,” he said.
He said his record as a former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, and later as governor of Kano State, showed that political partnerships could hold under pressure.
“I had an opportunity to work with my speaker and we worked very well. I was in Kano for eight years despite the difficulty of my then deputy governor. We were able to work for eight years amicably to the extent that I handed over to him,” he said.
Kwankwaso extended the argument beyond his personal experience, saying the same principle applied at the federal level.
In the Senate and other places, in the NDDC, we worked amicably with people. There is so much to be done and that’s why you have even ministers, other executives, advisors and so on. I don’t see from my experiences of the past why deputies or vice would fight with the president or governor,” he said.
He grounded the alliance in Nigerian political history, tracing a lineage of productive North-Southeast partnerships from the first republic to the present.Nigeria travel guide
“Right from the beginning, this sort of alliance has been in existence. Now we are going back to what Tafawa Balewa did during their time,” he said.
He also referenced the collaboration between former Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa and leaders of the NCNC, as well as that of former President Shehu Shagari and his vice president, Alex Ekwueme, in the second republic.
“So also in the second republic, immediately after the war, our leaders, Shagari and others, worked very closely with the southeast, with Alex Ekwueme as his vice president. They are our friends. We want to work together with them,” he said.Politics
Kwankwaso also noted that subsequent administrations had shifted power-sharing away from the South-East, a pattern he suggested the current alliance was correcting.
“There was a change during the third republic where for many obvious reasons an election was annulled and the government under the military decided to bring in Shonekan from the South-West.
Even after that, the military and other leaders worked together and brought in Chief Olusegun Obasanjo from the South-West again. Even Bola Tinubu probably is a beneficiary of all that,” he said.
He was emphatic that the choice of Obi was not driven by regional sentiment alone.
“It wasn’t just because we are going to the South-West just because of the South-West. No. We realised that Peter Obi is at the forefront of it and that’s why we all accepted to work together,” he said.Political candidate profile
The movement of both men into the NDC has triggered a wave of defections, with senators, House of Representatives members and political blocs aligned with their former coalition gravitating toward the new party, rapidly reshaping calculations ahead of the 2027 elections.
The alliance pairs Kwankwaso’s northern grassroots structure and disciplined voter mobilisation with Obi’s national youth engagement and urban electoral momentum, positioning the NDC as one of the main opposition platforms set to challenge President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress in 2027
Former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso has dismissed suggestions that his exit from the African Democratic Congress has created a damaging split in the opposition.
He said he and Atiku Abubakar may yet work together before the 2027 general election.
Kwankwaso spoke in an interview on Arise TV on Monday, responding to concerns that his move to the Nigeria Democratic Congress alongside Peter Obi had effectively divided the opposition into two competing blocs ahead of the polls.
“Now, we may still work together before the election. I personally, and I think even Obi himself, decided to leave ADC not because we are fighting with Atiku or anybody there. We decided to leave that party because we realised that there are some issues,” he said
He said the ADC was contending with three major unresolved problems that he believed would make it difficult for the party to field candidates, without specifying what those issues were.
“Whether they will be able to field candidates in that party or not is just a matter of time. It’s not like we had a primary election,” he said
The remarks come after Atiku recently claimed on Arise TV that Kwankwaso’s popularity was confined to Kano State and further divided there by Governor Abba Yusuf.
Atiku, who is seeking the presidency on the ADC platform, also described himself as the most popular politician of northern extraction, saying none of his contemporaries, including Kwankwaso, Aminu Tambuwal and Nasir El-Rufai, commanded a voter base across the North as wide as his.
Kwankwaso did not engage the slight directly, but made clear he bore no grudge.
“Politics is just like a game. I’m not fighting anybody and I’m not expecting anybody to fight me. I have no issue with that. I think we are past that level now,” he said.
He challenged those predicting a vote split in Kano to wait for the election result before drawing conclusions.
“Let’s wait for the election and see whether votes are split in Kano or not,” he said.
Kwankwaso also acknowledged a history of working with Atiku, recalling that he served as the former vice president’s northern coordinator during the 2019 presidential election.
“There was an election in 2019 in Port Harcourt. He won the election. I was his coordinator for the north. We worked for him,” he said.
He traced his broader relationship with Atiku to the 2015 APC presidential primary in Lagos, where he placed second behind Muhammadu Buhari, with Atiku third.
By Okey Maduforo, Awka
The Anambra State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expelled 30 members of the party for instituting legal actions against the party.
The affected members include some aspirants for the National Assembly, and their expulsion may disqualify them from participating in the party’s primary elections.
Disclosing this shortly after the meeting of the State Executive Committee (SEC) of the party, the State Publicity Secretary, Dr. Sir Valentine Iyiegbu, told reporters that the decision was in line with Section 21, Subsection 5 of the party’s constitution.
“The party discussed those who took the party to court, and many of them are contesting for the House of Representatives tickets of the party,” he said.
“The matter comes up tomorrow, and the SEC stated that what the party constitution stipulates would be followed, which is outright expulsion from the party under Article 21, Subsection 5.”
“The SEC actually ratified their expulsion because they did not exhaust all the internal avenues provided by the party to resolve their grievances,” he added.
Iyiegbu noted that the only reprieve available to the expelled members would be for them to withdraw their court cases.
“It is only when the matters are withdrawn from the court that the party can consider listening to them,” he said.
Speaking on the party’s primary elections, he explained:
“In the case of those contesting for the tickets of the Federal House of Representatives, all the eleven positions have aspirants, while for the Senate, the three positions are also being contested. The screening committees were here to perform their duties,” he noted.
The party also ratified the appointment of a five-man Primary Elections Committee headed by Sir Izuchukwu Okeke, the State Organising Secretary of the party.
By PETRUS OBI
Frontline aspirant for the Aninri/Awgu/Oji-River Federal Constituency seat, Anayo Onwuegbu, has successfully completed the screening exercise conducted by the All Progressives Congress House of Representatives screening panel in Abuja ahead of the party primaries scheduled for Friday, May 15, 2026.
Speaking after the exercise, Onwuegbu expressed satisfaction with the screening process, describing it as a reflection of the party’s commitment to internal democracy, transparency, and credible leadership selection ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The aspirant, who is seeking to represent Aninri/Awgu/Oji-River Federal Constituency under the platform of the APC, stated that he remains focused and prepared to continue to offer quality representation to the people of the constituency.
According to him, “The process once again highlights our party’s commitment to internal democracy, transparency, and the emergence of credible leadership as we prepare for the 2027 general elections.”
He reaffirmed his dedication to the development of the constituency, pledging to serve the people with commitment and purpose if elected.
The APC House of Representatives primaries are expected to hold nationwide on Friday as aspirants battle for the party’s tickets ahead of the 2027 elections.
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