By, Habeeb Lanlehin
Senator – Habeeb, you were not at the Senate sitting we held at the SRC chamber today?
Habeeb- No, I had a class and some other obligations I had to attend. Did anything happen?
Senator- Yes, you missed a lot.
Habeeb- Oh, what happened?
Senator – We tried to impeach Tofunmi, the Senate
president and he ran out of the sitting with the mace thereby disrupting the sitting.
Habeeb- *stares speechlessly*
The turmoil that overshadowed the Tofunmi-led administration during the 2021-2022 academic session was indescribable. From facing suspension, impeachment, and subsequent reinstatement by the HOD to being impeached again and even running off with the mace in the middle of a sitting, chaos reigned supreme in the House under Tofunmi’s leadership. The unity that should have bound them together was shattered by division and internal politics, leaving the House torn apart.
As the 2022-2023 administration commenced, all eyes turned to the new Senate President, Senator Egwu Samuel Chinaemerem, with arms folded and restless anticipation. The spotlight was on him, wondering how he would handle the crucial task of integrating the House. Understanding the vital role of proper legislative oversight in the association’s functioning, it became evident that a strong-willed and charismatic President was necessary to consolidate the senators’ diverse views during debates on matters affecting the
association. In such a context, the Senate President’s ability to foster unity and navigate the House’s complexities would be critical in ensuring effective oversight and decision-making for the association.
To know how the President fared and gauge his control over the House, POSSPRESS conducted a series of interviews with various students from the
Department of Political Science., In the course of the interviews, most NAPSSites interviewed by a POSSPRESS journalist were mostly satisfied with his administration and how he returned order to the House.
“I like the Senate president, he is a good leader, and he did well. If we are being honest, he
surpassed my expectations.”
Another NAPSSites member made the following comment when he was asked about the Egwu Samuel-led house: “No doubt, he is a good administrator, but the only issue I have with him borders on how he cuts down budgets for
social events. Is he an introvert?”.
When asked about the administration, Tinuke, praised the Senate president for a job she believed was well done: “He did well, having a competent Senate president is a blessing”.
When questioned, Basirat lauded the President’s
energy in always ensuring order and the fact that he praises and believes hardwork should be rewarded. However, she opined that the President could have done better with his oversight duties over the executive. According to her, he
should have invited the General secretary, Miss Ademide, and the Assistant general secretary, Miss Layomi, to the house over their “incompetency” earlier than he did.
However, when conducting an interview to ascertain NAPSSites perception of the house, a worrisome factor in the interview was the fact that most NAPSSites are unaware of the activities of the house or what the function is supposed to be.
Only three out of ten NAPSSites had the faintest idea of what the house is all about or the specific function it performs. Realistically, this did not come as a surprise, as the seats reserved for congressmen during legislative sittings
are always empty. Perhaps the new administration should look for ways to carry NAPSSites along in the activities of the house and not be so distant.
In a chat with the Senate President, he revealed that being an active member of the last House gave him an insight into the challenges and mistakes made by the previous administration, and the knowledge was what served as the
stepping stone for the success of his administration. Furthermore, he highlighted some mistakes made by the last administration, emphasizing the failure of the last administration to carry the House along in decision-making
and also giving room for unhealthy arguments during proceedings, which resulted in chaos.
He highlighted his ability to establish order and discipline within the House by running an
all-inclusive administration while upholding integrity and accountability. He emphasized the House’s positive rapport with other association organs, especially the executive, without compromising its autonomy. He outlined the
steps taken to restore the House to its former standing and attributed the success of his administration to the collaborative efforts of the senators, including the principal officers and floor members. He also praised his deputy, Sen. Alimi Yusuf, for consistently supporting and cooperating with him, even in moments of conflicting interests, citing their mutual understanding as a key factor behind their accomplishments. In his words, “we have a mutualunderstanding.”
Additionally, the Senate President addressed the issue of lateness and absenteeism, expressing his concern about the perceived lack of value for time
among Africans, including his senators. He pointed out that the House has established a standing order with clear disciplinary measures against late and absent senators, and he firmly disapproves of any actions that indicate negligence of their duties.Despite the challenges of habitual lateness and absenteeism from some senators, he remained optimistic about the House overall commitment and dedication to fulfilling its responsibilities, finding their level of motivation encouraging. However, he acknowledged that the
motivation of certain senators waned during the session due to academic stress or personal issues.Throughout the conversation, he attributed part of the increased motivation in the House, especially among 100-lv senators, to his
leadership skills. He drew this conclusion based on the feedback received from senators during the course of his administration.
During the discussion on the collaboration between the Senate and the Executive Organ,
the Senate President acknowledged a significant level of understanding between the two bodies, which contributed to smoother administration. However, he admitted that the extent of the executive organ’s compliance with the oversight
powers of the House varied depending on the circumstances.
Shifting the conversation to the financial capabilities of the association and the practice of slashing budgets for events, he expressed discontent with some NAPSSites. He remarked that these individuals lacked a proper understanding of the real issues and were not adequately informed. He further stated that many
NAPSSites who complained about budget reductions failed to pay their dues and only sought to benefit from activities they had no stake in. To emphasize his point, the Senate President clarified that the House did not derive pleasure from cutting budgets but had to do so due to the association’s financial limitations. Funding all activities would be unsustainable, necessitating
difficult decisions to manage available resources effectively.
He gave an example where an organ brought a budget of three hundred thousand naira into a situation where the total money in the association’s bank account was less than two hundred thousand naira. To add more details, he
explained that the house had to slash budgets brought by the organs because all the organs in the association don’t receive a certain percentage to cater for their activities each session as it was customary in the association.
The change was made last session when the then HOD, Prof. Aiyede, scrapped the system and said each organ should have a budget for their activities. With the new system, the organs came up with different budgets that could not be supported by the association’s purse, and that means the house would have to slash the budgets to what could be afforded by the association. He reiterated. While on the topic, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the executive branch’s failure to source funds or be accountable. To him, it is impossible to have good events or run the association relying only on basic dues, and sourcing for funds is a part of the executive
organ’s functions. He rounded up by stating he realised how hard it is to source funds but questioned how the executive planned to give NAPSSites the best while relying on basic dues.
“Misbehaviour is in your blood, and there is nothing I can do about it. If you are going to the next administration with this behaviour, it is
better you resign now.” The quoted sentence was made by the Senate President during the valedictorian sitting (his last sitting as president).
During the interview session with him, he shed more light on the sentence and explained that it was influenced by his experience in the house. “That speech emanated from my experience with them in the House. I believe in good and visionary leadership, and you can’t achieve that if lack of seriousness, lateness, absenteeism, lackadaisical attitude to service, and lack of commitment characterize you as a leader. If we don’t start at this micro level to preach good leadership, then all our efforts to instil that at the macro level would be like growing crops on rocky ground. It will produce nothing!
Learning from mistakes is part of improvement, and that is exactly what I meant when I said they should not go there with the same kind of attitude they exhibited in the House. If they don’t want to change, then the best thing is for them to resign. NAPSS needs very active leadership.”
To round up the interview, he expressed his gratitude to his constituency (400 LV) for giving him the mandate to represent their interests,
to the senators for their support and loyalty, and to NAPSSites for their input, encouragement, and criticism. He continued his farewell speech by
appreciating members of the other organs in the association for their commitment as well. He also admonished the newly elected officeholders in
various organs across the department to be committed, transparent, accountable, and visionary in their service to NAPSS. He concluded by sending special regards to the immediate past Editor-in-Chief of the Press, Miss Saanu Victoria, for her dedication and utmost sense of professionalism towards press
matters and wishing the new Editor-in-Chief, Miss Eniola, a successful tenure.
After the chat with the Sen. President and NAPSSites, POSPRESS took a walk to the hallowed chamber to speak with different Senators representing different constituencies. The report would be incomplete without their input.
When asked what challenges the House faced in the just-concluded session, the senators interviewed had different but similar opinions. Sen. Adesope Timilehin, representing the 400-lv constituency, believed the house only faced routine financial appropriation problems in terms of associational responsibilities between the house, executive, and other organs. On the other hand, Sen. Azeez Akorede believed that the challenges faced during the just-concluded session
were based on lateness and absenteeism from sittings by members of the legislature and the executive. Sen. Solomon Adebayo had a different perspective and believed that the major challenges the house faced stemmed from the lingering bad image from the last administration and the suspension of some parts of the constitution by the former HOD of the department.
Sen. Olayinka Ayomide Anne was more concerned about the time spent on deliberations during sittings and the lacklustre behaviour of some senators who were either late or absent from sittings. Sen. Kayode Noah also listed lateness and absenteeism as the challenges faced in the just-concluded administration.
Sen. Alimi Yusuf also had a similar mindset to his colleagues and highlighted financial constraints due to a lack of sponsorship and the failure of some NAPSSites to pay their basic dues. However, Sen. Mubarak Adeoti, while talking
about the lukewarm attitude of members and low turnouts for legislative sittings, also talked about the need for in-house cooperation in a bid to form
a strong house that will be ready to checkmate the excesses of other bodies in the department (association). Upon further inquiries, he expressed that the excesses include “flaws and correction of anomalies in other organs” because he believes the legislature is responsible for the roles he listed
while the press is only meant for “constructive criticism.” He also believes that the press has ways of controlling other bodies.
When asked if the Sen. President addressed the challenges that faced the administration efficiently, the answer wasn’t uniform. Sen. Timilehin did not think he addressed all the challenges but lauded his efforts as he believed the Sen. President tried his best. On the other hand, Sen. Akorede believes that he addressed all challenges to the best of his capabilities and praised him for professionally handling the relationship between the legislature and the
executive. Sen. Mubarak believed that the Sen. President addressed all the challenges effectively, and he would have done exactly what the Sen. President did if he were to be president. He highlighted disciplining members who act against the rules of the house and rounded up by saying, “Such member (that acts against the rules) is subjected to stewing in his or her juice.” He also talked about putting stern rules in place that are
in line with the ethical standards of an ideal legislative body. Still on the subject, Sen. Noah, Sen. Agriga, and Sen. Ayomide all believed that the Sen. President handled the challenges effectively. Sen. Alimi believes that the challenges are still present based on his assessment, even though the Sen. President tried his best by demonstrating a proactive and responsive approach towards addressing the challenges.
Despite the different opinions on how the Sen. President handled the challenges faced during his administration, all interviewed senators stated
that the president was democratic and gave room for his floor members to make their inputs during sittings and decision-making processes. The claim was further reinforced by the principal officers (the deputy senate president, clerk of the house, and chief whip), who all claimed to have a good
relationship with the president and were always carried along anytime decisions were to be made. The principal officers also talked about having a
principal officer group chat where they deliberated before going to the House.
The absence and failure of the executive organ to bring in viable sponsors for the association was one of the major challenges faced in the recently concluded session. A major consequence of the absence of sponsors was a long debate at the House anytime organs in the association tabled any budget for approval. In the course of the interview, Sen. Akorede addressed the issue
and defended the inability of the executive organ to attract sponsors based on the state of the economy in the country. He also challenged NAPSSites to step forward and sponsor some events within the association, as the events are for
NAPSSites and all NAPSSites are stakeholders in the association. He concluded by stating that the executive could only be encouraged to work twice as much as they would to widen their reach to get sponsors, but he considers holding anyone responsible for not bringing in sponsors “wild”.
On the other hand, Sen. Mubarak was seemingly dissatisfied with the executive’s failure to bring in sponsors and considered it a form of dereliction of duty. Sen. Solomon shared Sen. Akorede’s views and explained to our correspondent that the executive was in a helpless situation and had little
or no influence to bring home sponsorship. Sen. Alimi only had encouraging words for members of the executive organ and urged them to work harder and develop new strategies; his views were similar to Sen. Agriga’s, who also urged the incoming administration to do better while sourcing sponsorship.
For more information on the outgoing Senate President’s remark during the valedictorian sitting, see the remark that alluded to “some” senators in the House having lackadaisical attitudes and urging such senators to resign their positions in NAPSS. Recapturing his words, he said, “Misbehaviour is in your blood, and there is nothing I can do about it”. If you are going to the next administration with this behaviour, it is better you resign now”. The newly elected sen. President, Sen. Alimi Yusuf, when asked to comment on the remark, said he couldn’t recall if the outgoing Sen. President remarked the way it was reported, but he believes the outgoing president was referring to some Senators who have “chosen to be impervious to correction and those that have refused to embrace the responsibility and duty which they swore to uphold after such mountainous efforts to put them on the right track seemed to have proven abortive.” He ended his reply by confessing the remark was not a good one, but that’s the fact and the truth, irrespective of how it’s communicated.
He continued by stating that the “outgoing president is a human being, bound to be driven by emotions at times. Overall, he tried his best and
showed some exemplars of a good leader worthy of emulation.” Sen. Sunday Noah, the newly elected deputy president of the House, fully supported the remark when he said, “He was being factual. Honestly speaking, if we are to consider some senators behaviour, one will be forced to render their seat vacant. It is better, as the Senate President said, so that anybody coming
to the House will know how obligated they are to the House. They are elected, and they must perform their duties. If they can’t, they should resign and let people who are ready to do it come on board.”
Lastly, Sen. Yusuf Alimi, the newly elected senator president (he was the DSP in the last administration), promised to make an effort to foster transformation, inclusiveness, transparency, and others as stated in his manifesto. He also intends to establish a WhatsApp group with
constituency leaders to lower the percentage of tardiness and absenteeism in the House. Prior to choosing a date for a sitting, the leaders of each
constituency would be consulted to hear what their constituents’ members thought. He perceives that the problems with tardiness and absenteeism will be significantly reduced if all parties can cooperate to select appropriate dates for sittings. He concluded by stating that his administration would not put up with any illegality.
