•House of Representatives
A Lagos-based Public Policy Researcher and analyst, Habib Sheidu, has drawn attention to allegations made in recent times by a member of the House of Representatives from Jigawa State, that lawmakers sometimes have to pay as much as three million Naira before their bills are passed.
Seidu, who is also a Project Director at AdvoKC Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, in a statement made available to journalists today, stated that Nigerians have long accused the Legislature of being a rubber stamp, a chamber that bows to the wishes of the Executive.
He said: “But the Jigawa revelation points to something worse. If bills can only move through financial inducement, then, the House is not only a rubber stamp but also robber stamp, robbing citizens of genuine lawmaking and trading representation for transactions.”
“We will know if the House is truly committed to democracy or nothing more than a robber stamp by how it handles the investigation of this grave allegation. That response will reveal the true battle Nigerians are fighting: whether we have a Legislature working for the people or one trading away their future,” Seidu added.
He went further to state that “The 10th House of Representatives entered office in 2023 with bold commitments through its Legislative Agenda. These promises, if kept, could reshape Nigeria’s future. “Among them was a pledge to amend the Universal Basic Education Commission Act to increase UBEC’s allocation from two percent to four percent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
“That change would have doubled the resources available to provide classrooms, teaching materials, and teacher recruitment in a country where millions of children still study in overcrowded or dilapidated schools. Two years later, the promise remains unkept.
“The House also committed to amending the National Health Act to raise the Basic Health Care Provision Fund from one percent to at least two percent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund. Nigerians continue to bear the burden of one of the highest out-of-pocket health expenditures in Africa, while hospitals remain starved of drugs, equipment, and staff. A doubling of the BHCPF could change this story by bringing life-saving resources to the country’s primary health facilities. Instead, the silence of the House on this promise has left citizens waiting in vain.”
According to Seidu: “Oversight, one of the most sacred duties of a Legislature, has fared no better. The House promised to pass legislation enforcing penalties for those who ignore legislative summons. Yet this year, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and officials of his ministry, snubbed three separate invitations to answer questions about a ₦2.5 million job racketeering allegation.
“Their defiance made clear what many Nigerians already knew: legislative summons in Nigeria are mere pieces of paper, toothless threats that powerful officials can easily dismiss because no law gives them bite.
“The House also promised to pass the Electronic Surveillance and Communications Privacy Bill to shield citizens from unlawful wiretaps and misuse of electronic data. In an age of rampant surveillance and weak protections for privacy, this was no small commitment. It was a chance to protect rights, secure freedoms, and build trust in the digital age. Yet, the bill continues to languish without meaningful attention.
“Even in something as simple as updating its own systems, the House has fallen short. It vowed to develop a dynamic and interactive website to engage the public and make its activities transparent. But today, the official website still lists Ugonna Ozurigbo as a member, long after a court removed him from office. For almost a month now, the entire website has been down, making it impossible to access House budgets, reports, or performance records. This means that the promise to mandate the publication of sessional and annual reports detailing House activities, budgets, and outcomes, a medium-term pledge, stands broken.
“If the House cannot keep its own records accurate or even keep its website running, how can it persuade Nigerians that it is ready to modernise transparency?”
Seidu called on the House of Representatives to sit up to its responsibilities as it resumes plenary on October 7, 2025.
“That date must be more than a return from recess. It must be a moment of reckoning. The question before the 10th House is simple. Will it keep faith with Nigerians by fulfilling its promises to improve education, health, oversight, privacy, electoral democracy, and transparency? Or will it continue as a rubber stamp, obedient to the Executive, and worse still, as a robber stamp, treating legislation as a commodity and betraying citizens for gain?”
He called on the House of Representatives not take Nigerians for granted.
He also reminded the House that, “Across West Africa, our neighbours are steadily losing their democracies to coups and authoritarian takeovers. The recent turmoil in Nepal reminds us of what poor governance, unchecked corruption, and weak institutions can lead to. Nigeria does not have to follow that path but only if governance is taken seriously, especially in matters that directly affect the people.
“The House still has time to be born again as the people’s House. To turn its Legislative Agenda from paper into reality. To prove that Nigerian democracy can have a legislature that defends the Constitution, protects the vulnerable, and holds power accountable. Anything less is a theft of trust and a mockery of democracy itself,” Seidu added.
