NASS: The nauseating Akpabio/Akpoti mess

IT is extremely worrisome that some harebrained characters at the National Assembly have become accustomed to scandals and profligate lifestyles. Nothing seems to bother the degenerate lawmakers except when their selfish interests are breached. That is why they appear to have more time for frivolities than the reason for which they were elected.

Currently, the major thing on their table is not governance but the sexual harassment allegations against the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, by the lawmaker representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

The face-off escalated Thursday when the Senate punished the Senate President’s accuser with a six-month suspension. During the suspension, she will not have her salary and security aides. She must not step into her office or be seen within the precincts of the NASS. This is high-handed and one-sided. The Senate is a parliament, not a court of law. Akpabio cannot be a judge in his case; that is unjust. That means Akpoti-Uduaghan’s constituents will not be represented for six months.

It is concerning that every time a lawmaker makes an allegation in the NASS, the standard practice is to punish the lawmaker concerned heavily.

The current rift blew open when Akpabio changed Akpoti-Uduaghan’s sitting position during plenary on February 20, 2025. This did not go down well with Akpoti-Uduaghan, who protested the change and accused Akpabio of abusing his office and obstructing her legislative duties.

Akpoti-Uduaghan and Akpabio’s wife, Unoma, have gone to court to sort themselves out. Mrs Akpabio, who described her husband as a disciplined man who respects women, seeks, among other things, N250bn in compensation and a perpetual injunction to stop Akpoti-Uduaghan from making further damaging claims.

On her part. Akpoti-Uduaghan had earlier slammed a N100bn lawsuit against Akpabio and his senior legislative aide, Mfon Patrick, who had published a post on his Facebook page accusing the woman of thinking that being a senator was all about wearing make-up and transparent outfits to the chamber.

Coincidentally, the former acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Joy Nunieh, had similarly accused Akpabio of sexual harassment in 2020. The Senate President, who was the then Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, denied the allegation. He has also rejected the present accusation.

As the Senate continues to dance naked over the Akpabio/Akpoti-Uduaghan feud, the question remains, what are the values of Nigerian lawmakers? How have they contributed to improving the quality of life of Nigerians?

The current 10th NASS may have passed some bills since its inauguration in June 2023, but the major sensitive ones remain pending. They include the Tax Reform Bills, Constitution Reform Bills, and the Electoral Act Bill. Also pending is the National Ranches Commission Bill which aims to establish ranches for herders within their states of origin, and mandates that all cattle movements be carried out by vehicular means only.

Rather than focus squarely on their legislative duties, the Akpabio-led leadership of the NASS has turned the hallowed red chamber into a house of comedy and ostentation.

Fresh media reports indicate that the Senate President and Tajudeen Abass, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, travel in an 11-vehicle convoy each.

These vehicles reportedly include two bulletproof 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class models valued at N306m per unit, five Toyota Land Cruisers valued at N375m, two Toyota Hilux, one Hilux, one ambulance and three police power bikes. The Speaker reportedly has the same number of vehicles in his convoy.

In a country described as the global poverty capital, this is utterly senseless.

The Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, and the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, also allegedly move around in a convoy of nine-vehicle fleets. The vehicle fleets of Akpabio and Abass and those of their deputies reportedly cost over N7bn.

This is outside the N57.6bn cost of procuring SUVs for lawmakers in 2023. This profligacy is insensitive, and a violation of the constitution.

These shenanigans did not start with the 10th NASS. In 2013, The Economist of London described the lawmakers as the highest-paid in the world. By GDP, Nigeria ranked sixth in Africa and 41st in the world in 2023. So, it is financially illogical to remunerate lawmakers so handsomely.

In 2018, former Senator Shehu Sani revealed that each senator earned a monthly running cost of N13.5m in addition to the N750,000 the RMAFC prescribed per month. The senator representing Kano South Senatorial District, Kawu Sumaila, said last year that though his monthly salary was less than N1m, a Nigerian senator receives N21m as running costs monthly.

Meanwhile, millions of Nigerians do not know where their next meal will come from. At least 67 citizens were trampled to death while scrambling for food palliatives in some parts of the country late last year.

Experts estimate that about 40 per cent of Nigerian children under five suffer from stunted growth, 8.0 per cent are wasted annually and 27 per cent are underweight. In 2020, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria and Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, said Nigeria recorded the highest number of stunted children in Africa and that malnutrition accounted for 53 per cent of deaths among children.

The minimum wage was increased from N30,000 to N70,000 in 2024. Many state governments have yet to pay it. The N77,000 promised to the National Youth Service Corps members is yet to be paid months after it was approved in July. To compound the situation, kidnappers have made life unbearable for many Nigerians.

The senators do not seem to bother about these critical issues, including education and health, because they are not their priorities. What bothers them the most is what goes into their pockets.

Oftentimes, they allegedly demand bribes either to carry out their oversight functions or to approve some ministerial nominations.

Sometimes, they mutilate or pad the federal budget to accommodate their selfish interests. Last year, Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central Senatorial District, alleged that the 2024 budget was padded to the tune of N3.7tn.

The Senate leadership denied the allegation and suspended Ningi despite the observation by a civic no-profit organisation, BudgIT, that there was no detailed allocation for the N3.7tn in the 2024 budget.

This is not how the legislature in advanced democracies operates. In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister cannot misbehave because the lawmakers are there to check his excesses.

In 2013, the UK’s Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority planned to raise MPs’ pay. The lawmakers themselves vowed to fight the plan.

In the United States, Congress impeached Donald Trump twice during his first tenure as President. It happened to be the largest bipartisan impeachment vote in US history.

Nigeria’s liberation day will come when citizens rise and insist on reform of the political system, including reducing the bloated legislature.

There is no justification for keeping many of the lawmakers. Most contribute little to quality debates and other issues in the chambers.

There is only one House of Assembly at the state level. This can be replicated at the federal level.

Some concerned Nigerians have suggested that lawmaking should be made a part-time business.

The salaries and allowances of lawmakers should be reduced. This will help to reduce the cost of governance.

One reason for the debauchery at the highest level of governance in Nigeria is that the characters in the parliament have too much access to cash. It is against anything that is sensible and must stop.