The Senate leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has faulted key opposition parties in the country for labelling the National Assembly a rubber-stamp parliament, saying the accusation lacks justification or proof.
Bamidele, who currently represents Ekiti Central, said that if the National Assembly were truly a rubber stamp, it would not have held over 39 meetings with the executive arm to resolve grey areas in the 2024 Tax Reform Bills before their eventual passage.
The directorate of Media and Public Affairs, Office of the Senate Leader, told journalists yesterday in Abuja that it highlighted the various interventions the National Assembly has made in the overriding public interest.
Since its inauguration on 13th June 2023, the National Assembly, according to Bamidele, has adopted a strategic engagement approach to address complex national issues to pursue the country’s core interests.
Despite this non-adversarial approach to legislative business, the parliament has come under sustained public criticism, with leading opposition parties—including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)—describing it as a rubber-stamp institution.
Responding to these criticisms, Bamidele disagreed with the opposition’s assertions, maintaining that the National Assembly is not subservient to the executive and that such claims are unfounded.
He cited the example of the Tax Reform Bills, 2024, which were introduced in November 2024 and only passed after six months of legislative scrutiny.
He said, “If we were truly a rubber-stamp institution, as the opposition claims, those bills would have been passed within one or two weeks after they were laid before us. In passing the bills, the executive and legislative arms held over 39 engagements to address the grey areas in the 2024 Tax Reform Bills before both chambers eventually passed them.
“These engagements involved diverse interests and stakeholders across the federation. The bills could have been rushed in a few weeks. Still, it took six months to incorporate the input of critical stakeholders—civil society organisations, professional bodies, religious leaders, and thought leaders.
“The process also included behind-the-scenes efforts, closed-door meetings, and even disagreements between the legislature and the executive before the bills were passed. We also held public hearings to allow input from various interests.
“We engaged captains of industry to ensure the final version of the tax reform bills would stand the test of time, address the needs of Nigerians, and serve the public interest within the framework of our constitutional mandate.
“Ultimately, we resolved all outstanding issues in the overriding public interest. But people don’t often see the sacrifices made to deliver good governance—they’re only quick to label us a rubber-stamp when a bill originates from the executive.”
Bamidele said that rather than using the floor of parliament for grandstanding, the National Assembly chose meaningful engagement by inviting executive officials to clarify contentious issues in key bills.
He also cited the 2025 Appropriation Act, which was presented to the joint session of the National Assembly on 18th December 2024 but not passed until 13th February 2025.
According to him, if the National Assembly were truly a rubber stamp, it would have hastily approved the budget before the end of 2024 to maintain the January–December budget cycle, which has recently become standard.
“We did not return the budget to the executive until February 2025 because we prioritised due diligence. Every committee of the National Assembly engaged with agency heads to scrutinise the budget thoroughly and in the public interest,” he said.
“We are working in the interest of the people. We constantly consider how to ensure good governance in all our legislative activities and how to use legal frameworks to advance governance across the federation,” he added.
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