By Gift Chapi-Odekina, Abuja
As the 10th National Assembly marked three years in office last week, the mood inside the National Assembly complex swung between self-congratulation and sober self-assessment a tension that defined the just-concluded 2026 Open Week, themed ‘Three Years of the 10th National Assembly: Advancing Transparency, Inclusion and Reform.’
The Numbers Game
By its own account, the Assembly has been busy. Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Hon. Francis Waive, told reporters the House alone had introduced 2,747 bills since June 2023 comprising 57 executive bills, 95 Senate concurrence bills and 2,595 private member bills and passed 363 of them across three legislative sessions: 89 in the first, 148 in the second, and 126 in the just-concluded third.
House Spokesman Akin Rotimi pointed to tangible outcomes, citing the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, which he said has benefited over 1.6 million Nigerians with more than N303 billion disbursed in student loans. He also flagged a structural explanation for the wide gap between bills introduced and bills passed: many proposals are consolidated into single pieces of legislation before final passage. More than 300 constitutional amendment proposals remain at various stages, he disclosed, with leadership already scoping priorities for a fourth session that will reportedly see about 40 constitutional amendment bills including the long-pending Special Seats for Women bill put to a vote.
