In this Third-Year Appraisal of the Ninth National Assembly, we examine the performance of the federal legislators from the South South geo-political zone since the inauguration of parliament in 2019. The zone has six States comprising Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers.
These states are represented by eighteen (18) Senators and fifty-five (55) members of the House of Representatives.
READ ALSO: South East Senators sponsored 19.7% of total Senate bills | National Assembly Scorecard
SENATE SCORECARD
Senators from the varied in performance in terms of bill sponsorship in the third year of the 9th National Assembly. The South South lawmakers altogether sponsored 133 bills, constituting 13.18% of the 1,009 Senate bills sponsored in the period under review.
The performance analysis of the States in terms of bills sponsorship is shown below
STATE-BY-STATE ANALYSIS
| STATE | TOTAL BILLS TALLY | % OF TOTAL SENATE BILLS SINCE 2019 [1,009] |
| Cross River | 32 bills | 3.2% |
| Delta | 30 bills | 3% |
| Rivers | 29 bills | 2.9% |
| Edo | 19 bills | 1.9% |
| Akwa-Ibom | 15 bills | 1.5% |
| Bayelsa | 8 bills | 0.8% |
SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF LAWMAKERS
A. PRESIDING/PRINCIPAL OFFICERS
1. Senator Ovie Augustine Omo-Agege (APC, Delta Central), Deputy President of the Senate who sponsored 25 bills.
B. FEMALE SENATORS
1. Senator Betty Jocelyn Apiafi (PDP, Rivers West), with 12 bills
2. Senator Akon Etim Eyakenyi (PDP, Akwa Ibom South) who has three bills to his credit.
C. EX-GOVERNORS
- Senator Henry Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West). He replaced Senator Lawrence Ewruhdjakpo (now the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State) in 2020.
He has sponsored just one bill in three years.
BILLS PRODUCTIVITY (SOUTH SOUTH SENATE CAUCUS)
1. Senator Ovie Augustine Omo-Agege (APC, Delta Central), sponsored 25 bills. Four of these bills have been passed for concurrence, and others are at different stages of legislative consideration.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SCORECARD
As with their counterparts in the Senate, the members of the House of Representatives from the South South geo-political zone recorded varied performance in terms of bill sponsorship.
Altogether, they sponsored 422 pieces of legislation in the period under review, constituting 21.32% of the 1,979 House bills sponsored in the period under review. See a breakdown of the state-by-state performance below:
STATE-BY-STATE ANALYSIS
| STATE | TOTAL BILLS TALLY | % OF TOTAL HOUSE BILLS SINCE 2019 [1,979] |
| Delta | 143 bills | 7.23% |
| Akwa-Ibom | 106 bills | 5.36% |
| Edo | 77 bills | 3% |
| Rivers | 66 bills | 3.03% |
| Cross River | 21 bills | 1.06% |
| Bayelsa | 15 bills | 0.76% |
SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF LAWMAKERS
A. PRINCIPAL OFFICERS
- Rep. Peter O. Akpatason (APC, Edo), Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, with two bills.
- Rep. Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta), Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, who has sponsored ten bills so far.
B. FEMALE LAWMAKERS
- Rep. Boma Goodhead (PDP, Rivers) who was unable to sponsor any bill in the last three years.
C. RANKING MEMBERS
- Rep. Nicholas Ebomo Mutu (PDP, Delta), the longest-serving member of the Ninth House of Representatives who has three bills to his credit in the period under review.
- Rep. Ossai Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta), a third-term lawmaker with forty-seven bills in his name.
- Rep. Julius Gbabojor Pondi (PDP, Delta) currently serving his fourth term who has sponsored two bills since 2019.
