.. Chief of Staff calls for constitutional clarity, stronger local governments in emotional return to National Assembly
In a stirring address at the 2025 National Assembly Open Week, Chief of Staff to the President, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, declared that Nigeria’s legislature must urgently reform to meet the nation’s evolving challenges, warning that the current system where lawmakers shoulder local government responsibilities is unsustainable.
Speaking Tuesday in the House of Representatives chamber where he once presided as Speaker, Gbajabiamila delivered a passionate critique of Nigeria’s legislative system, calling for urgent local government reforms and constitutional amendments to clarify lawmakers’ roles.
A Legislature at Crossroads
“The legislature is the defining component that separates democracies from all other forms of government,” Gbajabiamila told assembled lawmakers, his voice echoing through the familiar chamber. “Yet after 26 years of this democratic experiment, we must ask: are we truly legislating or just improvising?”
The former Speaker painted a sobering picture of institutional confusion, where National Assembly members now function as “accidental local government chairmen” – building roads, providing healthcare, and funding schools despite constitutional provisions assigning these duties to subnational administrations.
“When a Representative spends more time drilling boreholes than drafting laws, something fundamental has broken,” he stated bluntly.
The Local Government Crisis
Gbajabiamila saved his strongest words for Nigeria’s comatose local government system, which he identified as the root cause of legislative dysfunction.
“The collapse of local administrations has created a dangerous vacuum,” he explained. “Citizens now expect their National Assembly members to provide services that constitutionally belong to council chairmen. This isn’t just impractical – it’s unconstitutional.”
He praised President Bola Tinubu’s ongoing local government reform efforts but warned that without financial autonomy and administrative capacity, the third tier of government would remain ineffective.
“In advanced democracies, local governments handle waste management, primary healthcare, and community policing. Here, we’ve turned lawmakers into emergency contractors. This must stop.”
Budget Realities and Public Misunderstanding
The Chief of Staff addressed the perennial controversy around “budget insertions,” offering lawmakers an unexpected defense.
“When journalists criticize ‘constituency projects,’ they forget these are often the only way legislators can meet impossible public expectations,” he argued. “The appropriations process has become a survival tool for politicians whose reelection depends on delivering services beyond their constitutional mandate.”
Gbajabiamila revealed the paradox facing lawmakers: “You’re damned if you don’t provide these services, and damned when you use the only available mechanism – the budget – to do so.”
Institutional Memory and Growth
Reflecting on the legislature’s journey since 1999, the former Speaker paid tribute to pioneering lawmakers who built Nigeria’s parliamentary traditions “without blueprints or institutional memory.”
“Our last real legislative experience before 1999 ended in 1983. Those first legislators were essentially writing the manual as they governed,” he noted, praising current Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu for advancing this legacy.
However, he cautioned against complacency: “A democracy without a strong legislature is a promise deferred. We must build an institution capable of world-class policy innovation.”
Tinubu’s “Partner in Daring
Gbajabiamila hailed the 10th Assembly as President Tinubu’s “partner in daring,” citing recent tax reform legislation as evidence of productive executive-legislative collaboration.
“Just weeks ago, the President signed historic tax bills that will reshape our economic framework – thanks to exhaustive work by these chambers,” he noted, drawing applause.
He assured lawmakers that Tinubu, as a former Senator, “understands the legislature’s sacred role” and would continue supporting its institutional growth.
A Call to Constitutional Action
The Chief of Staff ended with a stark ultimatum: Nigeria must either fully empower local governments or constitutionally formalize lawmakers’ expanded roles.
“We cannot continue this charade where legislators operate outside constitutional provisions,” he insisted. “If we expect them to function as local administrators, let’s amend the constitution to reflect this reality and provide structured funding.”
He proposed strengthening the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS) and Assembly Library Trust Fund as critical capacity-building institutions.
Emotional Homecoming
The speech doubled as an emotional homecoming for Gbajabiamila, who confessed to nostalgia upon returning to the chamber where he spent 20 years.
“This institution was the music of my life,” he reflected. “Presiding as Speaker remains my greatest honor before serving the President.”
As he concluded, the Chief of Staff left lawmakers with a Churchillian charge: “In this era of global realignment, Nigeria’s legislature must ensure our people aren’t left behind as the world rewrites its rules.”
The speech, blending personal reflection with institutional critique, sets the stage for renewed debates about legislative reform as the Tinubu administration pushes its local government revitalization agenda. Political analysts suggest it may also signal impending constitutional amendments to clarify separation of powers between federal and local governance tiers.
What’s Next?
With local government autonomy lawsuits pending at the Supreme Court and the Finance Ministry preparing new intergovernmental fiscal frameworks, Gbajabiamila’s intervention may catalyze long-delayed reforms.
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