Over the weekend, some members of the House of Representatives testified that the media kept the 9th National Assembly on their toes in order to carry out their mandate.
The lawmakers, who included Chairmen of key House committees, made the admission at an end-of-year gathering and award ceremony hosted by the House of Representatives Press Corps in Abuja.
Hon. Magaji Da’u Aliyu, Chairman, House Committee on Power, who was honoured with the Most Impactful Power Committee Chairman of the House award, expressed joy that the 9th Assembly was scandal-free, and thanked Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila for providing them with quality leadership.
He said, “I am proud of the 9th National Assembly. I have been around for sometime but the 9th Assembly we think we did a lot of things differently. We worked together. We worked very hard and were able to achieve our set out targets. All these go to the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, for the kind of leadership he has offered to us.
“This 9th Assembly is scandal free and we also wish to commend ourselves for that. I also wish to commend the Press Corps for keeping us on our toes and trying to make us do the correct things because if you know that there are people watching you, that would make you do the right thing. We would continue to work together”.
Also speaking, the chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon. Benjamin Kalu who also received an award as the Most Outstanding Spokesman of the House lauded the Press Corps for its effort in strengthening democracy.
“I appreciate the Press Corps for the stability they have given to the image of the National Assembly. It has not been like this before. Rancour-free, acrimony free. There is this integrity in the mind of Nigerians about the NASS. The confidence level has gotten from where it was to where it is at the moment not because of only what we did but also because of how you showcased what we are doing to the Nigerian people. People are beginning to understand that this fulcrum of democracy is actually playing a vital role in the advancement for our democracy.
“We have been believers of participatory democracy where we bring the people to the centre stage and what my committee has done is to increase the level of interaction and engagement between the people and the parliament. We make ourselves available and accessable to journalists.
“We must attend to your call and that has placed us on our toes to be one step ahead. So that we would not fail in your expectation in making sure we are resourceful with the right information that would guide your publications to enable people to understand better, to make Nigerians understand our story from the horse’s mouth.
“These and more other sectoral engagements we have carried out in the country shows that the parliament wants to harvest the opinion of the people so as to formulate our policies and laws in line with the desires of the people, based on the needs analysis gotten from the collective opinion of Nigerians. You have helped us achieve that by making sure you don’t tell the stories the way they are not. You have decided to make sure that at all times what you presented to the public was nothing but the truth and I commend you,” Kalu said.
He restated that the budget of the National Assembly was not sufficient for the legislature to achieve all its set goals.
“The budget of the National Assembly is low. We cannot function as expected by the mandate of the constitution relying on that budget. People can criticize it the way they want. I have said it from the day I came to the National Assembly, you cannot get the efficiency that we want to drive the legislature by depending on the current budget as it is. I am hoping that we would push it forward to accommodate other responsibilities of ours”, he said.
Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara who received an award of Excellence as the Champion of Legislative Reform lauded the efforts of the press corps in reporting the activities of the House.
Represented by Hon Mohammed Kabiru, Betara said “Journalists are considered to be judges of any society. They see it from an eagle eye perspective and give good reportage for people to understand what is going on in society.
“I thank you for the award and commend you for a good job you have done. The 9th Assembly’s success that has been recorded would not have been possible without the Press Corps”.
On his part, the Chairman, House Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Hon Sha’aban Ibrahim Sharada urged journalists not to compromise in their profession.
Sharada, a governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for Kano State in the 2023 election also received an award as the Most Impactful Committee Chairman on Intelligence Matters and said he felt honoured by the award.
He said: “I feel honoured by this award. Journalism is a profession I have always loved to practice. Having acquired my first degree, I practised for more than 11 years before politics. My experience in journalism has greatly impacted my life and afforded me the ability to stand out in every field I find myself. My advice to journalists is to cherish and adore the profession and put it above other considerations.”
Others who were honoured included Hon. Frederick Agbedi as the ‘Voice of the Niger Delta in the 9th Assembly’; Director General/Chief Executive of Teen Ambassadors Foundation, Dr Paul Adiwu (Award of Excellence in Outstanding Humanitarian Service by the Press Corps); Caroline Asan as the ‘Most Committed Committee Clerk in Budgeting Process’; Mallam Wali Shehu as the ‘Most Media Engaging Constitution Alteration Committee Clerk; Abdulsalam Olalekan as the ‘Most Successful PIB Committee Clerk in the House’; and Mathew Okuta as the ‘Most Media Conscious Clerk in War Against Corruption.’