By Rt Hon Eseme Eyiboh
It is a peculiar feature of Nigerian political commentary that verifiable evidence is often sacrificed on the altar of sentiment. A recent Editorial of Leadership Sunday questioning the relevance of the 10th Senate and portraying it as a mere appendage of the executive, though expressing the legitimate anguish of citizens battling hunger and insecurity, falters when confronted with fact. Far from being the “worst in history,” the Senate under Godswill Akpabio has demonstrated a record of legislative productivity and reform unmatched since 1999. Res Ipsa Liquitor
Consider the arithmetic of governance. Since its inauguration in June 2023, the 10th Senate has passed more than 90 bills, about 58 of which have already received presidential assent. This is not mere legislative noise. It is measurable productivity that, when set beside its predecessors, reveals a striking pattern. At a comparable stage, the 8th Senate had passed only 32 bills, and the 9th roughly 58. By every empirical yardstick, the current Senate stands as one of the most productive in our annals. To label it the “worst in history” is to abandon fact for fiction.
In very clear terms, the architecture of national power is being re-written through bold legislative engineering. The amendment to the Nigeria Electricity Act is a cornerstone of this transformation. For the first time, states have concurrent authority to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity. What once stood as a federal monopoly has been prised open to allow innovation and competition. The implications are far-reaching. With this reform, states can harness their energy potential to power industries, light homes, and drive productivity. This is not tinkering with policy; it is the legal dismantling of one of Nigeria’s longest-standing developmental bottlenecks.
Furthermore, economic reform is also finding a firmer footing. The Nigeria Tax and the Fiscal Policy Reform Acts have begun to harmonise a previously fragmented tax system. For a country whose tax-to-GDP ratio has hovered around 10 percent, far below the continental average, these laws are vital for building fiscal strength. A nation cannot feed its citizens or fund security without a functioning treasury. To lament hunger while opposing the laws that create the means to combat it is to contradict reason. These fiscal reforms lay the groundwork for a stronger, fairer economy, capable of sustaining social programmes and reducing the state’s chronic dependence on oil revenues.
On the matter of human capital, the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act and the creation of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund mark an ambitious stride towards inclusive education. The initiative has already benefited over half a million students who would otherwise have been excluded from higher learning. Admittedly, its implementation has faced teething challenges, but the spirit of the law is clear. It represents a long-term investment in Nigeria’s youth, betting that a more educated populace will, in time, erode the poverty that has long undermined stability.
Security, that most sacred contract between government and the governed, is being treated with corresponding seriousness. The Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons Act and the modernisation of the Defence Industries Corporation demonstrate an understanding that security begins with structure, not sentiment. Nigeria’s struggle against banditry and terrorism has been sustained in part by the unchecked proliferation of weapons and a reliance on foreign imports. These legislative interventions signal a strategic shift towards building domestic capacity for defence and reining in the flow of illicit arms. The journey to security reform is arduous, but it must begin somewhere, and the Senate has ensured that it begins with law.
The legislature has also ventured into politically perilous but necessary territory with its institutional reforms. The Police Professionalism and Accountability Act and the Fiscal Responsibility and Transparency Act are designed to embed transparency and oversight in the daily operations of governance. They seek to tame the excesses of power and promote accountability in law enforcement and public finance alike. Alongside these sits the Local Government Autonomy Act, a daring effort to bring power closer to the people. Though its constitutional journey is ongoing, its intention is unmistakable: to return the grassroots to the heart of governance and rebuild the foundations of federalism from below.
Without a doubt, fiscal discipline remains a recurring motif in the 10th Senate’s record. The passage of the 2025 Appropriation Act on schedule reflects a renewed commitment to budgetary order. The restoration of the January-to-December cycle has restored predictability to public finance and signalled seriousness to both investors and citizens. Concerns about implementation and oversight are valid, but they do not diminish the importance of timely passage. The Senate’s work ensures that the machinery of state does not grind to a halt in bureaucratic indecision.
Attention has also turned to social justice through legislation on the National Minimum Wage. While enforcement remains uneven across tiers of government, the intent is clear: to lift living standards and close the gap between income and dignity. Much has been made of the disparity between senators’ pay and the earnings of ordinary workers, yet such comparisons ignore constitutional structures. Lawmakers do not determine their own salaries. The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission performs that role. The same Senate has, through the Fiscal Responsibility Act, sought to rationalise public expenditure and ensure value for every naira spent, including its own.
In a lighter but necessary correction, one must also reject the outdated notion that hardship can be measured by whether a senator’s wife and an ordinary worker’s wife shop in the same market. This lazy metaphor misreads the modern Nigerian household. Men and women alike share economic burdens and daily realities. Inflation and scarcity are democratic in their cruelty. It is through sound policy, not gendered clichés, that these challenges will be overcome.
A word too must be said about Senator Godswill Akpabio himself. Long before the Senate gavel, his name was synonymous with transformative governance. As governor of Akwa Ibom State, he redefined infrastructural ambition and social investment, turning the capital city of Uyo into a symbol of modern administration and introducing education and healthcare programmes that uplifted lives. His reputation as the “Uncommon Transformer” was not manufactured in praise but built in policy. That same drive for visible results now guides his leadership in the Senate, where he has channelled executive energy into legislative purpose.
The accusation that the Senate has become a mere department of the executive is perhaps the most laughable. Legislative independence is not defined by public quarrels but by productive engagement. The relationship between the arms of government is not meant to be adversarial theatre but a coordinated pursuit of national interest. The Electricity Act, the Defence Industries Corporation Act, and the Tax Reform Acts all emerged from this constructive collaboration. These are not signs of subservience but of strategic governance.
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Let there be no misunderstanding, the hardships Nigerians face are severe and immediate. Hunger, insecurity, and joblessness remain the daily reality for millions. But no legislature anywhere can legislate hunger away overnight. What the Senate can and must do is craft the instruments of reform. These 90 laws, 58 of which have already taken effect, are the scaffolding upon which a stronger Nigeria may yet be built.
The work ahead lies in diligent execution by the executive and unwavering oversight by the legislature. The Senate has provided the legal architecture. The nation must now insist on its faithful implementation. For when laws begin to live in the lives of citizens, when they move from text to transformation, the quiet labour of the 10th Senate will be recognised for what it truly is: an uncommon legislative engine driving the nation’s long march toward renewal. Res Ipsa Liquitor
•Rt Hon Eseme Eyiboh Special Adviser, Media/Publicity and official Spokesperson to the President of the Senate
