Nigerian lawmakers are under tough public scrutiny following the unveiling of the National Assembly Deliberative Barometer and Policy-Focus Productivity Report, a groundbreaking digital accountability platform developed by ERGAF-AFRICA in collaboration with CISLAC and partners.
The platform, described as Africa’s first interactive legislative performance barometer, uses real-time data to evaluate the productivity of all 469 federal lawmakers.
It tracks bills, motions, debates, petitions, and plenary contributions, providing citizens, researchers, and civil society groups with unprecedented access to legislative performance data.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, hailed the initiative as “a mirror through which we can examine ourselves honestly and pursue continuous improvement.”
He admitted that the tool compels legislators to “raise the standard of representation, lawmaking, and oversight” while deepening Nigeria’s democratic culture.
The report is already exposing lapses. Findings show that 12% of members of the House of Representatives and 4% of senators recorded zero plenary actions during the first year of the 10th National Assembly.
By contrast, some lawmakers, such as Senate Leader Michael Opeyemi Bamidele and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, topped performance charts with dozens of legislative actions.
Data-Driven Democracy and Push for Accountability
Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, Director-General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), noted that the tool marks “a shift from subjective to objective evaluation of the legislature,” though he cautioned that the data must be read in the proper context since legislative work often involves collective rather than individual efforts.
The barometer also highlights sectoral focus: while the Senate prioritised economy (18.5%) and security (13.7%), the House placed greater emphasis on security (16.9%) and economy (13.7%).
Civil society leaders insist the platform will force lawmakers to sit up. CISLAC’s Executive Director, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, told Pulse Nigeria that “many legislators have not bothered to do the needful in terms of engaging effectively. But with these parameters, they will be more accountable to the electorate.”
Rafsanjani also criticised the misuse of constituency project funds, alleging that some lawmakers build projects in their personal neighbourhoods rather than in communities that elected them.
“This kind of abuse… needs to be tackled,” he said.
Christian Aid Nigeria’s Country Director, Temitope Fashola, said the barometer should not be seen as fault-finding but as “a supportive mechanism to enhance trust between representatives and constituents.”
He stressed that the tool could improve legislative quality, resolve political deadlocks, and rebuild public trust in governance.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
According to the report, the House of Representatives recorded 4,239 legislative actions in one year, compared to 2,275 in the Senate.
Ekiti, Edo, and Rivers states led in aggregate performance, while a handful of legislators recorded no actions at all.
ERGAF-AFRICA’s president, Dr. Chibuzo Okereke, said the tool was designed to “cure the ills of prevailing democratic disillusionment” by ensuring legislators’ actions are measurable, verifiable, and accessible.
As Nigerians digest the data, lawmakers face what analysts describe as one of the most transparent performance assessments in the country’s democratic history, placing them firmly on the hot seat of public accountability.
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