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By Levinus Nwabughiogu-Abuja
House of Representatives yesterday said that its members were facing undue pressure from their constituents over-high expectations.
To this end, the House said that members were developing various ailments and dying.
Represented by its Spokesman, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, the House spoke on a day it adjourned plenary for one day in honour of its fallen member, Hon. Ossy Prestige who until his death on Sunday represented Aba North/Aba South Federal Constituency of Abia State.
Kalu at a press conference shortly after the adjournment of the plenary was responding to a question from Journalists of why the report of most investigative hearings by the House never saw the light of day and whether the members compromised in the reports.
He said that there was no compromise, stressing that it was wrong for Nigerians to reason in that direction.
According to him, Nigerians had mistaken the functions of the Executive arm to be the duties of the legislature.
He said that expectation management should reflect constitutional mandate, saying it wasn’t the job of the parliament to implement the resolution and build social infrastructure but to make laws for the country.
also attributed the delays in making the reports public to the Covid-19 pandemic which slowed down the pace of work, asking Nigerians to be patient with the lawmakers.
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The House spokesman, however, said that despite the pressure from the people, lawmakers would continue to ensure that the dividends of democracy were made available.
The pressure from constituents is killing members of the National Assembly
He said: “You are aware Covid-19 slowed the activities of the House and the things we were supposed to achieve within one month, we spend three months on that because we spread what we were supposed to do across several months. Be patient with us and I can assure you that every report that is laid before the House will receive the attention it deserves. Our job is to lay the reports, make recommendations, take resolution and pass it to the Executive. Some of the reports before the House has been attended to, while others have not been attended to because of Covid-19.
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There will be a spillover from what happened last year. We are not ending the parliament today and so, whatever has not been done before now will be done. So, we have not been compromised.
“If this parliament has been compromised, you will see it in them. This is one of the poorest parliament. You don’t see them live in luxury. So, compromised in what sense? These guys are suffering. They are under stress. That is why most of the sickness they are passing through is a heart attack or organ failure due to pressure from their constituents. That is the truth which must be told. Whether you want to understand it or not, let the press know this. The pressure from constituents is killing members of the National Assembly. The pressure is too much. People are receiving a lot of pressure on issues that do not concern them.
The pressure coming from our constituents is way out of the scope. Those who are not supposed to build roads are asked to build roads. Those who are not supposed to build hospitals are asked to build hospitals. So, most members of the National Assembly are under great pressure and the resources to meet these expectations from the public are not there.
The pressure coming from our constituents is way out of the scope. Those who are not supposed to build roads are asked to build roads. Those who are not supposed to build hospitals are asked to build hospitals. So, most members of the National Assembly are under great pressure and the resources to meet these expectations from the public are not there.
People don’t want to hear the truth, but I will tell you the truth that members of the parliament are under pressure. I don’t care how you go and report it. This is the truth and you can report it whatever way you want to report it.
“I am telling you that members of the National Assembly don’t have the kind of money you think they have and the pain they are passing through is affecting them. That is one of the things that has made the negative image of the House to last.
“Despite the pressure, we will continue to do our best because that is what we signed for. Today, I was on a radio station in my state and most of the people that called in were asking why I have not fixed about two or three roads and the anchor asked me to clarify the functions of the House.
Constituents asking us to do the job of the executive
“Many people misunderstand the function of the parliament and many of the members who don’t know how to explain to their members carry on with this pressure with little resources and it weights them down. Do you know that members of the National Assembly spend their private money to take care of their constituents and the constituents feel that the money they are spending is from the federal government? This is killing them. Go and ask any of them, from the Senate to the House of Representatives.
