The opposition, Labour Party and New Nigeria Peoples Party have warned Nigerians not to expect anything meaningful from the 10th National Assembly as its leadership was the creation of President Bola Tinubu and his party All Progressives Congress.
A former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio and Jubrin Barau emerged as Senate President and Deputy Senate President respectively while Tajudeen Abbas and Ben Kalu were elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives shortly after the 10th Assembly was inaugurated on Tuesday.
The acting National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiorah Ifoh said the leadership of the National Assembly was handpicked and it is expected that the Senate and the House of Representatives would do the bidding of the executive arm of government that facilitated the emergence of their leaders.
“The conventional thing to do is to allow members of both chambers to elect their leaders but this was not what Nigerians witnessed on Tuesday.
“The APC and Presidency did everything possible to have their way and they succeeded. Nigerians should not expect this Assembly to champion any form of legislative independence because the Senate President and the Speaker of the House were the picks of the Presidency.’’
The Spokesman for the New Nigeria Peoples Party in the 2023 Presidential Campaign Council, Ladipo Johnson said the leadership of the 10th National Assembly was the creation of the ruling party and the Presidency.
“Nigerians should not expect much in terms of disagreement between the executive and the judiciary. This should be worrisome considering that a healthy disagreement is necessary between the two arms of government in a constitutional democracy.’’
