The inductees who emerged as finalists after a rigorous selection process overseen by an MVP Panel of Experts (MPEs), which started with the nomination of fifty-five federal lawmakers as of midterm (June 2022) of the Ninth National Assembly were presented with plaques at a well-attended ceremony
READ ALSO: OrderPaper hosts Night of Glamour in honour of performing NASS members
As the tenure of the Ninth National Assembly slowly grinds to a halt, five of its 469 members have emerged as worthy inductees into the first-ever Most Valuable Parliamentarian (MVP) Hall of Fame convened by OrderPaper Nigeria.
The inductees are Senators Uba Sani (APC, Kaduna Central), Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe (APC, Kwara Central), Yahaya Abubakar Abdullahi (PDP, Kebbi North), Rt. Hon. Mohammed Tahir Monguno (APC, Monguno/Marte/Nganzai Federal Constituency) and Hon. Sam Ifeanyi Onuigbo (PDP, Ikwuano/Umuahia North/South Constituency).
They were unveiled as finalists for the MVP Hall of Fame from an earlier shortlist of 25 semifinalists released by OrderPaper, Nigeria’s foremost parliamentary monitoring organisation and policy think tank on Sunday, 21st May 2023, at a well-attended dinner at the NAF Conference Centre in Abuja.
READ ALSO: “Why we are instituting the MVP Hall of Fame” – Oke Epia
Speaking at the event themed ‘Night of Glamour,’ Oke Epia, Executive Director of OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative and Convener of the MVP Hall of Fame emphasised its importance as an opportunity to stimulate discussions and propel citizens demand for proper legislative governance.
“…what we have invited you to witness is not an award or event but the commencement of a very significant process that will help us hopefully, in promoting the institution of parliament of this country and deepen democracy because the class of inductees into the Hall of Fame will not just receive the recognition and walk away, but will have a role or two to play in the way we designed this project,” Epia noted.
Eighteen other members of the outgoing Assembly also received Certificates of Recognition for their valuable contributions in the core legislative function of lawmaking over the last four years.
The lawmaker representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Uba Sani, who was also presented with a plaque as the Most Valuable Parliamentarian (MVP) of the 9th National Assembly, sponsored thirty-two (32) bills with 2 assented into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, including the Banking and other Financial Institutions Act 2004 (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill which focuses on financial inclusion for the downtrodden. The others are the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria Act (Amendment No, 3) Bill and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation Bill.
READ ALSO: DOWNLOAD: The MVP Hall of Fame Publication (Semifinal Edition)
For Senator Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe representing Kwara Central Senatorial District, who sponsored 15 bills with three of the pieces of legislation signed into law; including that seeking to establish the National Health Insurance Commission, the Psychiatric Hospital Management Amendment Bill and the Mental Health Bill.
In the case of a former Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, who represents Kebbi North Senatorial District, sponsored seven bills in the period under review, including the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (Amendment) Bill and the National Agricultural Development Fund Bill.
Another inductee was the Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Hon Tahir Monguno, who represents Monguno/Nganzai/Marte Federal Constituency, sponsored fifty-three pieces of legislation, including the Nigerian Law Reform Commission (Amendment) Bill, Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts (Amendment) Bill, Export Prohibition Act (Repeal) Bill, Constitution Alteration Bills, and the Digital Rights and Freedom Bill.
Honourable Sam Onuigbo, who represents Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency on his part, was specifically inducted for his efforts at championing the Climate Change Act assented to in 2021 and has been described by legislative experts as a significant milestone in the life of the 9th National Assembly.
READ ALSO: #FixPolitics: “MVP Hall of Fame will compel healthy rivalry among lawmakers”
In reaction to his emergence as the Most Valuable Parliamentarian (MVP) of the Ninth National Assembly, Senator Sani, who chairs the Senate Committee on Banking and Financial Institutions, described the honour as both gladdening and most encouraging.
‘’The facts used by OrderPaper to assess me and indeed other lawmakers in the 9th National Assembly are easily verifiable. They are in fact public knowledge. I did not, and could not have lobbied for this recognition. For this, I am extremely glad to accept and own this honour done me by the very profound team at OrderPaper Nigeria,’’ the Kaduna Governor-elect tweeted.
For Hon. Onuigbo, “I am profoundly grateful to God Almighty that, after such a detailed and incisive evaluation,.” I am one of the few chosen legislators,” he said.
The inductees also signed the induction register at the event in a session presided over by Prof. Ladi Hamalai MFR, and Prof. Ali Ahmad; Chairperson and Secretary of the MVP Panel of Experts (MPEs) drawn from parliamentary think tanks, the academia, media and civil society, to perform oversight over the selection of finalists, as well as the Convener of the MVP Hall of Fame.
Convened by OrderPaper Nigeria; the Most Valuable Parliamentarian (MVP) Hall of Fame, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria’s legislative history, is designed to applaud and encourage a distinct class of legislators who have proven to be performance-driven, excellence-inspired, and public-spirited in the National Assembly.
