By Adesuwa Tsan
Former spokesman of the Senate and current Chief Whip, Sen. Sabi Abdullahi, has scored the Legislature high on enacting laws and initiatives that are geared towards improving the lives of average Nigerians.
He, however, blamed the Nigerian media for creating a contrary negative image of the National Assembly to the public.
Representing the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, at a Legislative Conference which held in Abuja on Monday, the lawmaker said the media does not reflect true happenings at the Parliament.
The conference with the theme, “Legislative Investigative Powers: Expectations, Challenges and Way Forward,” was organised by Hallow Mace, in conjunction with the National Orientation Agency, NOA.
He said, “Whatever the Legislature says goes through the media.
“The context is lost in the process of presenting these resolutions and the perception never goes away…you are not the ones singing your own song, somebody is singing it for you and it may not be in your own tune,” he said.
Abdullahi advised that attention should also be focused on state assemblies and local government legislative councils.
Earlier, the chairman of the National Union of Journalists, FCT Council, Emmanuel Ogbeche, challenged the Parliament to do a self evaluation and check if it can score up to 50 percent out of a 100.
While harping on the importance of strengthening oversight function, he expressed certainty that public office holders will be more accountable when they know that anything to the contrary will result in a probe and subsequent sanctions.
“The Legislature is misunderstood because, maybe, it lacks integrity or Nigerians do not understand its functions, hence the need for this kind of conference.
“Can the Legislature be scored a pass mark of 50 for what it has achieved in the last 2 decades,” he queried.