. . . describe 10th National Assembly as worst in Nigeria’s democratic history
While the APC is “fixated on 2027,” ordinary Nigerians are left to confront deepening insecurity, worsening economic hardship, and a government that is “either ignoring or offering tokenistic responses to real national emergencies.”
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The Labour Party (LP) caucus in the House of Representatives has described as “insensitive, unconscionable and troubling”, the alleged abandonment of governance in pursuit of an early 2027 re-election agenda by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a strongly worded statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, December 7, 2025, the caucus leader, Hon. Afam Victor Ogene, said though the President’s ambition is legitimate, it cannot supersede the government’s constitutional responsibility to secure lives and improve the welfare of citizens.
He warned that while the APC is “fixated on 2027,” ordinary Nigerians are left to confront deepening insecurity, worsening economic hardship, and a government that is “either ignoring or offering tokenistic responses to real national emergencies.”
Ogene said the concerns of the caucus are amplified by the prevailing security crisis nationwide, alongside the administration’s struggle to fund the budget and demonstrate accountability. He pointed to the ongoing protests by local contractors, many of whom now keep vigil at the Ministry of Finance, as evidence of a government failing to meet basic obligations.
“The situation has led to prolonged protests by local contractors who remain unpaid for completed projects, sparking economic hardship, stalled development and a dearth of new projects,” the statement read.
The lawmakers faulted what they described as the persistent disregard for the Appropriation Act, arguing that while critical infrastructure collapses across the country, the government is pursuing multi-trillion-naira projects “neither backed by appropriation nor subjected to due procurement.”
They noted that citizens travelling for the festive season face not only bad roads but the ever-present threat of kidnap.
Of particular concern, Ogene said, is the revelation in the recently audited accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) that N17.5 trillion was spent on a pipeline-security contract in 2024 alone. The caucus compared the figure to the N18 trillion spent on fuel subsidy over 12 years.
“On the excuse of lack of funds to sustain the subsidy regime, this Administration has clearly robbed Peter (Nigerians) to pay Paul (cronies), through a questionable pipeline-security contract whose executors are unknown,” he said.
He painted a bleak picture of public confidence in state institutions, saying the executive arm “has been underwhelming,” the judiciary’s decisions increasingly doubted, and the legislature widely seen as lacking “the moral fiber to hold the executive accountable.”
“Our dear country, Nigeria, has become a special economic zone: everyone and everything now has a price. Kidnappers and bandits now have prices on the heads of the citizenry; elected officials now have a price to look the other way; and opposition figures have prices to enthrone chaos in their own platforms,” he added.
The caucus warned that despite being in the 12th month of the year, many ministries, departments and agencies cannot boast of even 10 percent implementation of their 2025 capital budgets.
“In most cases, the scorecard reads nil,” Ogene said, lamenting the “glaring impunity” of officials who offer no explanation for missing revenues or abandoned projects.
He argued that the country appears to be on “a negative cruise,” citing retired police officers occupying the gates of the National Assembly over unpaid entitlements, contractors besieging the Finance Ministry, and kidnappers striking at will. “Yet the only response by government is to launch and distribute vehicles for a purported Renewed Hope Agenda,” he added.
According to him, while the country “sits on the precipice,” the President appears more preoccupied with securing a second term.
“Mr President, while your quest is a legitimate aspiration, please do well to attend to the stark realities confronting Nigerians,” he urged, noting that a journey that previously took six hours from Lagos or Abuja to the South-East or South-South now takes an entire day, with travellers facing the fear of kidnap at every point.
Ogene disclosed that even some lawmakers are beginning to admit complicity in the current governance failures, acknowledging that financial inducements have silenced many. He described the 10th National Assembly as “the worst in Nigeria’s democratic history,” arguing that it has been reduced to a rubber stamp with little to show to Nigerians.
He warned that the country cannot continue on “this sorry path,” insisting that both the government and the opposition must set aside political calculations and refocus on the people.
“Citizens are the backbone of democracy, and their interests should come above all else,” he said.