By: Joseph Dodji Etsevi
New NAPSS UI Senate President Oyekanmi Ayomide Joyce speaks with POSSPRESS on the structure and role of the Senate House.
POSSPRESS: Good evening, Senator Joyce. I’m Joseph Etsevi from POSSPRESS. I’m here to discuss your role as Senate President of NAPSS. Kindly introduce yourself to NAPSSites.
Senator Joyce: Good evening Mr Joseph. My name is Oyekanmi Ayomide, a 400 level student of Political Science. I am the newly elected Senate President of the NAPSS Legislative council.
POSSPRESS: So my first question is how exactly is the Senate House structured?
Senator Joyce: The Senate is structured in a hierarchical manner. In an ascending order, the senate house is structured with the senators at the base, heads of committees, the Deputy chief whip, the Chief Whip, the Deputy Clerk, the Clerk, the Deputy Senate President and the Senate President at the top of the hierarchy.
POSSPRESS: As the Senate President, what are your key responsibilities while overseeing the operations in the Senate house as its current leader?
Senator Joyce: As stated in chapter 4, article 74 and section 1 of the NAPSS constitution, as the Senate President of the House my responsibilities are to preside over the sittings of the Senate. Be responsible for summoning the sittings of the senate through the clerk of the House. Be responsible for conducting elections to the vacant post in the House. Shall sign below the minutes of the proceedings. .To recognize important personalities present in the Senate.
POSSPRESS: How are the students equally represented and how does the Senate communicate, collaborate with other students committees and executive council?
Senator Joyce: When it comes to representation of NAPSSites at the house, each level is represented by their Senators and these senators are responsible for expressing their constituency’s interests in the house. For example if there are specific issues facing a particular level, the senators in the level are responsible for expressing these issues at the house and then specific issues can be taken to address these issues.
And concerning communication, the House communicates with NAPSSITES through several ways. One is through the senators. Resolutions made in the house are sent to each constituency by the Senators. Also, information and resolutions are published across all NAPSS platforms by all senators. Another way is by collaborating with course reps when the need arises. Also, the House significantly collaborates with the executive council and all other organs in ensuring that the welfare of NAPSSITES are well catered for.
POSSPRESS: How does the Senate House come to a consensus when there are conflicting opinions?
Senator Joyce: It’s very natural to disagree. When this happens in the house, where the house is divided. A consensus is reached by voting. Using the common “yay or nay” method.
POSSPRESS: For accountability measures, how well are the Senators held accountable for performing their duties and how do you, as the Senate President, ensure that those responsibilities and duties are fulfilled dutifully?
Senator Joyce: One of the ways senators are held accountable is in the attentiveness and availability of senators when decisions are made. The primary responsibility of any senator is the representation of their people’s interests to avoid marginalisation. If a senator is mostly absent from sittings (70%), as stated in the constitution such senator has automatically forfeited their position in the house.
POSSPRESS: Regarding conforming a new legislation, how exactly does the process go?
Senator Joyce: When a bill is brought to the house by the executive ( it could be an initiative, budget, policy, etc). The executive presents the bill explaining the details and technicalities. The members of the house scrutinize the bill and ask questions. After deliberation, if the bill passes the House scrutiny, the bill gets adopted.
POSSPRESS: How many times does the Senate hold sittings and is the agenda for the meetings always publicized?
Senator Joyce: As stated in the constitution. 8 sittings per session. 4 sittings per semester Emergency sittings are also held at least 2 timesMost definitely, the agenda and resolution are always publicized both online and on the department’s notice board.
POSSPRESS: What is your role as Senate President in advocating for students’ interests?
Senator Joyce: This is quite critical to my position. Asides being the head of the house, I’m also responsible for the welfare of NAPSSITES. I personally believe that as long as the relationship between the House and the executive is cordial, advocating for students’ interests will be easier. When there’s a good relationship between me and the Executive president especially, we can work hand in hand to table and solve issues that may arise without having contradicting stances.
POSSPRESS: You’ve served as a senator in the previous administration. What major challenges did the previous administration face? And what are the plans you hope to put in place to curb those challenges?
Senator Joyce: Yes. I noticed a few challenges and issues. The first one has to do with the electoral committee. The committee members were very indifferent towards their duties and this caused some issues during the election period last semester. The electoral committee was structured in a way that the members were appointed from all levels. The duties and activities of the committee were also structured in a way that every level has an officer that is tasked with giving out forms and answering questions that students from that level might have. But it happened that the officers were not performing their duties and some students didn’t get their forms till after the election. I believe this was caused by lack of proper orientation. I plan to tackle this ensuring that every committee that will be inaugurated must be oriented on their duties and responsibilities according to the constitution.
Another issue I observed is the trend of students avoiding electoral proceedings. I’ve noticed that some NAPSSites who might have intentions to run for a particular post tend to wait till after election, which is the bye election period before declaring ther intentions. I believe most of them do this to avoid the strict electoral processes like the screening, manifesto night and press night. They know the electoral processes for bye election are less strict. I plan to curb this by introducing stricter bye election processes to ensure that only capable individuals take the position of leadership in the association.
POSSPRESS: Why did you decide to take on the big role as Senate President? And what skills do you think a good Senate President has to possess?
Senator Joyce: Since I joined the senate house in my first year, I saw firsthand how things are done, how issues are solved with precision and humility. I have to say, my predecessors are my biggest inspiration.I personally decided to take on the role because I believe I have what it takes to walk the path my predecessors took, I believe I can continue in their footsteps to keep the association organised. From what I’ve observed from the successful past administrators, a good senate president must possess skills such as critical thinking ability, fast thinking ability, decisiveness, problem solving ability, logical reasoning, professionalism, humility and a host of other skills and virtues.
POSSPRESS: My final question, what is your vision for the Senate House now, and beyond?
Senator Joyce: My vision for the Senate house is to lead with the aforementioned qualities and to leave the association in capable hands. My vision is to ensure the House is as organised as possible as this is how the association at large can progress and cater for the needs of all NAPSSITES.
POSSPRESS: Thank you so much for your time, senator Joyce. Are there any final thoughts or anything else you wish to add?
Senator Joyce: You’re Welcome Mr. Joseph. A message to all NAPSSITES. Ensure you leave a mark wherever you journey through as political scientists. It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture, just make sure your impact is felt wherever you find yourself. It could be with your skill of analysis, systemization, comparative analysis, etc. Just leave a mark!
POSSPRESS: Thanks once again Senator Joyce. I wish you good luck and a smooth sailing administration with the executive body.
