The Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has clarified the expansion of the number of standing committees from 109 to approximately 137.
This decision, they said, is not aimed at merely distributing leadership positions among House members but is rather intended to enhance the effectiveness of the House’s oversight functions.
Speaker Abbas addressed members of the House of Representatives Press Corps during an interactive session, emphasizing that certain House committees were too large to conduct efficient oversight.
He cited the Committee on Tertiary Education as an example, which had to oversee over 300 agencies, often unable to scrutinize all of them within a year.
To address this challenge and provide better oversight of executive actions, the Committee was subdivided into University Education, Federal Polytechnic, Federal Colleges of Education, and TETFund.
The decision to expand the number of standing committees has faced criticism.
However, Speaker Abbas stressed that all standing committees have been instructed to ensure efficiency in their work.
To emphasize the need for efficiency, a monitoring committee has been established to oversee the various committees and hold them accountable for their performance.
The Speaker explained, “In the past, not all committees were active. Now, we want to ensure that all standing committees are active, working for the betterment of the
Nigerian people. We want to ensure transparency and we want results. That is why we set up a monitoring committee to monitor their activities.”
He further assured that under his leadership, the House would strengthen its relationship with the media. The House plans to conduct quarterly media briefings on its activities to keep Nigerians informed about parliamentary actions.