Kano senator blames weak legislative oversight for democratic challenges
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KANO (North-West, Nigeria) — Sen. Suleiman Kawu-Sumaila (APC-Kano South) has identified ineffective legislative oversight as a major challenge confronting Nigeria’s democracy.
Kawu-Sumaila stated this on Sunday while rendering an account of his three-year stewardship to members of the Kano Correspondents’ Chapel.
He said effective oversight by the National Assembly (NASS) and state Houses of Assembly was critical to accountability, transparency and good governance.
“In one of my papers, I attributed the challenge of our democracy to lack of oversight from the NASS and state assemblies.
“Ours in NASS is better compared to the state assemblies,” he said.
The senator attributed lawmakers’ poor oversight performance to inadequate funding, limited capacity and insufficient training for legislators and legislative staff.
According to him, inadequate funding and capacity constraints hinder lawmakers, while newly elected legislators often lack the experience required for effective oversight.
He also said some legislative staff lacked adequate training to provide the necessary support for lawmakers in discharging their responsibilities.
Kawu-Sumaila urged the media and civil society organisations to intensify scrutiny of legislative oversight and demand accountability from public institutions.
“I want us to be serious and focus. Let the civil society organisations and the media beam their searchlight on oversight and start asking questions.
“Let us do oversight the way it is supposed to be done, and definitely Nigeria will grow well.
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“Let us ask questions: Where is the money? Where does it start and where does it end? We have the right to ask questions,” Kawu-Sumaila said.
He argued that effective legislative oversight could reduce the burden on anti-corruption agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He also cited the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) among agencies whose roles could be reduced.
“Therefore, our only challenge is oversight. But in terms of representation and lawmaking, you must score us higher,” he said.
On his stewardship, Kawu-Sumaila said he accepted the invitation to account for his performance because accountability and transparency were democracy’s bedrock.
He said he had facilitated development projects across the 16 local government areas in health, education, agriculture and other sectors.
The senator, however, acknowledged the support of President Bola Tinubu and Gov. Abba Kabir-Yusuf in achieving some of the projects.
He also recognised the contributions of Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, and others, including Abba Bichi, Kabiru Alhassan Rurum and traditional rulers.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Correspondents’ Chapel, Mr Murtala Adewale, said the session was organised to exercise the media’s constitutional watchdog role.
Adewale said the initiative was aimed at holding political office holders accountable for their stewardship and commitments to constituents.
He urged other politicians to emulate Kawu-Sumaila by publicly accounting for projects and initiatives undertaken to improve their constituents’ lives.
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