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Cash Crunch: NASS Reduces Sittings to Once a Week
The two chambers of the National Assembly may not meet the mandatory constitutional requirement of 181 sittings yearly because of reduction in number of sitting days to once a week.
Section 63 of the Constitution provides that the Senate and House of Representatives shall each sit for not less than 181 days in a year. And section 68 thereof states that any legislator who fails to attend the proceedings of the House or Senate for less than one third of the required number of days shall automatically lose his or her seat.
Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the House of Representatives has been sitting once a week as opposed to the usual three times per week. The Senate has been struggling to hold plenary session twice, and in some cases once, per week.
It was learnt that insufficient funds to carry out legislative works caused the inability to have three sittings in a week.
Apart from the legislative business of the National Assembly which is being adversely affected, there is also the problem of delay in payment of allowances and other entitlements of the lawmakers allegedly caused by non-release of funds by the Ministry of Finance as when due.
The Guardian gathered that concerted efforts to persuade the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, to release some funds failed.
A lawmaker, who spoke in confidence, revealed that the First Line Charge budgetary provision for the National Assembly has not been met for a long time since this administration came in.
“Also, informal methods of raising fund from federal agencies to support parliamentary needs are no longer as effective as they were,” he added.
It was learnt that following the failure of some committees to get the minister to act, the entire leadership of the National Assembly invited her for questioning.
At the meeting, questions were put to Ahmed on why the constituency projects accommodated in the 2020 budget have not been implemented satisfactorily.
The National Assembly had, in December, 2020, extended the capital component of that year’s budget to March 31, 2021 to give the executive enough time to implement it.
Most painful to the lawmakers, some of whom, have resorted to quiet protest against the National Assembly leadership, is the non-implementation of the zonal intervention programmes, popularly called constituency projects.
Another lawmaker said that visiting constituencies or Senatorial Districts had become a nightmare for legislators because of the unrelenting pressure from their constituents.
British Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer on Monday announced his resignation, bringing an abrupt end to a premiership that began with Labour’s landslide general election victory in July 2024.
Starmer made the announcement in a statement outside 10 Downing Street, where he reflected on his time in office and defended his record in government.
“Every decision I have made has been about putting the country I love first,” Starmer said as he confirmed he would step down as both prime minister and leader of the governing Labour Party.
The resignation marks a dramatic political development in the United Kingdom, coming barely two years after Starmer led Labour back to power following more than a decade in opposition.
His departure is expected to trigger a swift leadership transition within the party at a time of heightened political uncertainty.
Addressing supporters gathered outside Downing Street, Starmer described entering No. 10 in 2024 as “the proudest moment” of his life, saying he entered politics with the goal of improving the lives of millions of people.
The outgoing prime minister also highlighted what he considered some of his key achievements, including rebuilding the Labour Party after years of internal divisions and restoring public confidence in the party’s economic and national security credentials.
Starmer said he inherited a Labour Party that was “politically, financially and morally bankrupt” and faced repeated predictions that it was finished as a political force.
He argued that his leadership helped transform the party, including efforts to tackle anti-Semitism and reposition Labour as a credible alternative government.
His resignation has immediately intensified speculation over his successor. Attention has turned to Andy Burnham, who recently won the Makerfield by-election and is due to be sworn in as a Member of Parliament.
Political observers and Labour insiders believe Burnham could emerge as the overwhelming favourite to take over the party leadership. Some party members are already discussing the possibility of a “coronation” process in which Burnham becomes the sole candidate, avoiding a prolonged leadership contest.
If that scenario unfolds, Labour could have a new leader and prime minister in place by September, around the time of the party’s annual conference.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
Oyebanji secured a landslide victory, polling 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, who garnered 40,543 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.
The election, held across all 16 local government areas of the state, was overshadowed by reports of irregularities and widespread allegations of vote buying, drawing strong condemnation from observers.
The official results were announced on Sunday morning by the Chief Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who declared Oyebanji duly elected after meeting the constitutional requirements.
In her declaration, Professor Oladiji stated: “I, Professor Adenike Oladiji, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on June 20, 2026, and that the election was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Source: Reuters
