Lagos, Kaduna lawmakers dominate Reps Bills Progression Chart | National Assembly Scorecard

Performance Scorecard of the Top 10 House of Representatives members by Bills Progression (Productivity Index) highlighting parliamentarians who have worked at ensuring their bills move far along the steps of lawmaking

The Productivity Index entails the progression of a piece of legislation from draft to Presidential assent.

READ ALSO: Productivity Index: Top 10 Senators by Bills Progression | National Assembly Scorecard

Just as with the Senate, when a sponsored bill is not moved along the stages of lawmaking, it is of no use in itself. Therefore the progression of the bill from the first reading stage to passage is a critical aspect of carrying out this legislative duty of lawmaking and measuring productivity.

Based on the stages of lawmaking and the ability to present, lobby and debate their sponsored bills, these parliamentarians made the top 10 House of Reps members by bill progression (productivity index) scorecard analysed below.

Femi Gbajabiamila (APC, Surulere I, Lagos) 

The Speaker of the House of Representatives tops the charts with 11 bills passed, which is 47.8% of his total number of 23 bills sponsored in three years.

Notable among these bills is the Electric Power Sector Reform. The bill seeks to amend the Act to prohibit and criminalise estimated billing by the DisCos and provide pre-paid meters to all power consumers. Others include the Physically Challenged (Empowerment), Economic Stimulus, Labour Act (Amendment), and Students Loan (Access to Higher Education) bills.

Also, other bills are on Constitution amendment and health sector related. The one-time House Leader and Minority Leader who has been in the House of Reps since 2007 is seeking a return to the green chamber in the upcoming National Assembly elections. His other 12 bills are likewise at different stages at committee and first reading.

Mohammed Tahir Monguno (APC, Monguno / Nganzai/ Marte, Borno)

Another ranking member and the Majority Chief Whip of the House of Reps sponsored 53 bills. Fourteen of his 53 bills have been passed for concurrence to the Senate.

Meanwhile, 13 of his other bills are at committee, 22 are at first reading, and four have been consolidated with other bills. Also, seeking to return to the House, the lawmaker has been a member first in 1992 and then from 2007 till date. Prominent among his passed bills are the National Commission for Refugees, Migrant and Internally Displaced Persons, Terrorism (Prohibition and Prevention), and Export Prohibition Act (Repeal) bills.

Others are on Constitution amendment and establishment bills. Interestingly, the Majority Chief Whip in the 8th and 9th Assembly keenly contested for the leadership of the House but steeped down on both occasions. According to the listof candidates released by the election management body, he will be contesting for a seat in the 10th Senate. Will he make it?

READ ALSO: Principal Officers sponsored 10% of total Senate Bills | National Assembly Scorecard

Fulata Abubakar Hassan (APC, Birniwa / Guri / Kiri Kasama, Jigawa)

With eight of his 15 bills passed for concurrence to the Senate, the lawmaker has 53.3% progression. The one-time Jigawa state governorship aspirant has been in the House since 2015.

Additionally, his passed bills are all on establishment or amendment to Acts of tertiary institutions. The lawmaker is also the APC candidate for his constituency in the forthcoming National Assembly 2023 elections.

Uzoma Nkem Abonta (PDP, Ukwa East / Ukwa West, Abia)

The legal practitioner cum legislator was first elected into the House of Representatives in 2007 and re-elected in 2015 and 2019. Out of 40 bills, seven of the third-term member’s bills have been passed and sent to the Senate for concurrence.

Also, six are at committee, while 27 are still at the first reading stage. Although he will not return to the 10th Assembly, the lawmaker’s passed bills include an amendment of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency Act and the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan bills.

Also passed are the establishment of the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria bills and others on tourism, agric technology, and mineral resources.

Dan Agundi Munir Babba (APC, Kumbotso, Kano)

With 75% of his eight bills passed, the third-term lawmaker also meets the bills’ productivity criteria. His six passed bills are on agriculture and the judiciary, while his remaining two bills ate at the first reading stage.

As the APC House of Reps candidate in Kumbotso Federal Constituency, he is seeking to return for a fourth term to the National Assembly.

READ ALSO: Fact File: Breakdown of Permanent Voters Card (PVC) Data

Gwani Gideon Lucas (PDP, Kaura, Kaduna)

The 9th House of Representatives Minority Whip has sponsored 30 bills in three years. Of these bills, five have been passed to the Senate for concurrence.

Also, nine are at committee stage, while 15 are at first reading, and one has been consolidated. The five-time lawmaker is seeking to return to the House on the PDP ticket for his constituency for a record sixth term.

Prominent among his bills passed is the Federal Roads bill. The bill seeks to repeal the 2002 Act and enact a new one that includes private sector participation, among other related matters. Also, he has bills passed on governance and environmental health.

Onofiok Luke Akpan (PDP, Etinan / Nsit Ibom / Nsit Ubium, Akwa Ibom)

Beginning his political career at a young age, the lawmaker started as a pioneer Speaker of the Nigerian Youth Parliament. Later on, serving in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly in 2011 and 2015, where he was also Speaker.

As a newbie to the House of Reps in 2019, he sponsored 34 bills. Four of these 34 bills have been passed, while eight are at committee stage. His remaining 22 bills are at first reading, with one consolidated and the other negative.

His notable bills passed include the amendment of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act and the National Human Rights Commission (Repeal and Enactment). The other two are on Constitution amendment.

READ ALSO:  92% of Female Reps sponsored one bill or more | National Assembly Scorecard

Ossai Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Ndokwa East/ Ndokwa West / Ukwuani, Delta)

The member from Delta has been representing his constituents since 2011. In the 9th Assembly, he sponsored 42 bills in three years. While four have been passed, ten are at committee; the others are consolidated or at the first reading stage.

His passed bills include two establishment bills on the Nigerian Council for Social Work and a Federal Polytechnic in Kwale. The others are the Treaties Making Procedure bill and the Federal Roads bill, which he co-sponsored with Gwani Gideon Lucas.

As for the forthcoming National Assembly polls, he won’t be returning as he lost his bid to clinch the ticket of the PDP.

Tajudeen Abbas (APC, Zaria, Kaduna)

The third-term legislator is also the sponsor of the highest number of bills, with a tally of 74, in three years. Also seeking a forth-term in the House, four of his bills have been passed. The first is the bill to establish a National Blood Service Commission, which has gotten presidential assent.

The bill is designed to grant the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) the autonomy to carry out its mandate according to global best practices. Additionally, the established Commission has the statutory mandate to coordinate, regulate and ensure the provision of safe, quality blood transfusion services on a country-wide basis within the National Health Plan and Other Related Matters.

The other two passed for concurrence are establishment bills for Federal Medical centres and Vigilante Group of Nigeria. While the fourth is an amendment to the Nigerian Council for Management Development Act bill. His other 70 bills are spread across committee and first reading stages, while others have been consolidated or negative.

Benson Babajimi Adegoke (APC, Ikorodu, Lagos)

The second newbie on the list has sponsored 16 bills in three years. While four have been passed for Senate concurrence, three are at committee, eight are at the first reading stage, and one has been consolidated.

The passed bills include establishment bills for a Nigerian Armed Forces Support Fund and Proceeds of Crime Management Agency. The others are the Defense Research and Development Bureau and Constitution amendment bill.

The first-time lawmaker is also seeking re-election for a second term.

READ ALSO: National Assembly Scorecard: Bills Tally of the 109 Senators & 360 Reps

Note: bills tagged unknown have no stage of the bill specified in the National Assembly bills data bank. However, from investigation, several of these bills are stuck at the first reading stage.