By Olusegun Olanrewaju
The House of Representatives yesterday expressed dissatisfaction with what it described as discrimination against the Green Chamber.
This followed the conferment of national honours on the leadership of the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu.
The long-drawn war over superiority between the two chambers of the National Assembly echoed again yesterday as members took turns drumming their egos on relevance in democracy and governance.
*Raise dust over President’s decision to award Akpabio, Kekere-Ekun GCON, while Abbas gets lower award
During plenary yesterday, the House said it is unacceptable for Tinubu to confer the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, while reserving Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) for Abbas.
The House passed the resolution after adopting a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Philip Agbese, the House’s Deputy Spokesperson.
According to the motion, there is an ongoing and inappropriate culture of discrimination against the House of Representatives, often portrayed as inferior to the Senate, through language that consistently refers to the Senate as the “upper chamber” and the House of Representatives as a “lower chamber.”
*’No upper or lower chamber. We are equal,’ they insist
Members of the Green Chambers also insisted on the principle of equality. Chanting, ‘No Upper or Lower Chamber,’ the lawmakers chorused, ‘We are equal.’
However, the motion said, “This terminology misrepresents the legal status of both chambers and diminishes the House’s standing.
“The growing trend where the President of the Senate is referred to as the ‘Chairman of the National Assembly,’ which inaccurately implies a hierarchical structure between the two chambers, contrary to the Constitution, and undermines the authority of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“This discriminatory practice was once again evidenced during the recent conferment of National Honours on the leadership of the National Assembly by Mr. President. At the same time, expressing our gratitude to Mr. President for recognising and honouring the leadership of the National Assembly.
“We note that the conferment of the title of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) on the President of the Senate and the conferment of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) on the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Deputy President of the Senate perpetuates the inappropriate subordination of the Speaker to the President of the Senate.
“The Chief Justice of Nigeria, who is lower in protocol ranking than the Speaker of the House of Representatives, was also awarded the title of GCON, further exemplifying this culture of discrimination against the leadership of the House.
“The Constitution, in promoting a balanced and equal bicameral legislature, clearly provides that bills passed by one chamber must be concurred with by the other in the same form for them to become law, thus affirming the equal status of both chambers as essential components of the legislative process.
“While the Constitution assigns specific responsibilities to the Senate, such as confirming certain presidential appointments, it implies greater authority for the House of Representatives over appropriations and the power of the purse.
“These distinct roles are designed to maintain a system of checks and balances within the legislative arm rather than establishing the superiority of one chamber over the other.”
After contributions and amendments by members, the House adopted the motion and resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate and report back to the House.
The Speaker, Abbas Tajuddeen, who presided over the plenary, said that the House Leader, Prof Julius Ihonvbere, would chair the committee.
The membership would comprise representatives from all the geopolitical zones and others.
