Lawmakers who serve multiple terms are better positioned to build institutional knowledge, establish influential relationships and secure strategic committee positions that can be leveraged for the benefit of their constituencies
By Austin Angwe, Makurdi
Former Member of the House of Representatives for Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency and 2027 ADC senatorial candidate for Benue North-East, Bob Tyough, has urged voters to prioritise continuity and experience by re-electing lawmakers who have demonstrated competence and effectiveness.
Tyough made the call at the weekend during an engagement with members of the Kwande Youth Parliament in Adikpo, Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State.
He expressed concern that the frequent replacement of sitting lawmakers after a single four-year term had deprived Kwande/Ushongo of valuable legislative experience and the strategic advantages that come with seniority in the National Assembly.
According to him, lawmakers who serve multiple terms are better positioned to build institutional knowledge, establish influential relationships and secure strategic committee positions that can be leveraged for the benefit of their constituencies.
Tyough maintained that ranking lawmakers often command greater influence in legislative proceedings and have stronger opportunities to attract federal projects and programmes to their constituencies.
He said the practice of changing representatives every four years forces newly elected lawmakers to repeatedly start from scratch, thereby weakening the constituency’s accumulated political and legislative capital.
“If we continue changing our representatives every four years, we keep resetting our political capital,” he argued, stressing that retaining capable lawmakers would allow experience and seniority to grow while increasing the constituency’s influence at the federal level.
The former lawmaker said continuity in representation was particularly important for constituencies such as Kwande/Ushongo, which, he argued, needed sustained federal presence and strategic engagement to attract meaningful development projects.
Tyough, who is seeking the senatorial mandate for Benue North-East on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said his previous experience in the National Assembly would give him an institutional advantage if elected.
He urged youths in the constituency to look beyond political party affiliations when choosing their representatives in the 2027 elections, advising them to consider experience, competence, capacity and a candidate’s ability to turn legislative influence into tangible development.
Members of the Kwande Youth Parliament welcomed the engagement, describing it as a timely discussion on the future of political representation in the constituency.
They expressed willingness to support leaders capable of using their positions to attract meaningful benefits and development to the people.
The youth leaders also echoed Tyough’s argument that repeated one-term representation could undermine the accumulation of legislative seniority and influence.
They maintained that retaining competent lawmakers would allow experience to deepen, seniority to accumulate and political influence to expand, ultimately positioning Kwande/Ushongo to secure greater benefits from the National Assembly.