AT least 48 members of the House of Representatives and five Senators failed to contribute to debates, sponsor bills, or raise motions and petitions at the National Assembly over a 12-month period, according to a new performance assessment released over the weekend.
The findings were contained in the Deliberative Barometer and Policy-Focus Productivity Report (NASS-DBPFR), published by the Erudite Growth and Advancement Foundation (ERGAF-Africa) sighted by News Point Nigeria, which tracked legislative performance between June 14, 2023, and June 13, 2024.
According to the report, the lawmakers recorded no single plenary activity during the period under review.
Those listed include Abubakar Baba Zango (Yola North/Yola South/Girei, Adamawa), Mohammed Inuwa Bassi (Ganye/Jada/Mayo-Belwa/Toungo, Adamawa), Nnabufie Chiwe Clara (Orumba North/Orumba South, Anambra), Abdulkadir Rahis (Maiduguri Metropolitan, Borno), Stainless Chijioke Nwodo (Aninri/Awgu/Oji River, Enugu), and Yaya Bauchi Tongo (Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye, Gombe).
Others are Jonas Okeke (Ehime Mbano, Imo), Adamu Yakubu (Jigawa), Ibrahim Usman (Jigawa), Sani Nazifi (Jigawa), Madawaska Dahiru (Jigawa), Yahya Richifa (Kaduna), and Yusuf Bashir (Kaduna).
The report stressed that their failure to engage in parliamentary debates, motions or bill sponsorship undermines legislative accountability and participatory governance.
Across the 12-month review, the Senate recorded 2,275 plenary activities, with debates making up 663 (29.1%).
The House of Representatives recorded 4,239 activities, though debates only accounted for 507 (11.9%).
In terms of legislative business, bills introduced for first reading represented 15.5% of Senate work and 21% of House activity.
Sectoral analysis showed that in the Senate, economic issues dominated deliberations (18.5%), followed by security (13.7%) and education (10.9%).
In the House, security led discussions (16.9%), trailed by economic matters (13.7%) and education (10.4%).
Not all lawmakers were inactive. The report highlighted high performers who drove parliamentary deliberations.
Senate Deputy President Barau Jibrin topped debate contributions with 38 interventions.
House Majority Leader Julius Ihonvbere led the lower chamber with 26 debate inputs.
On substantive motions, Senate Leader Michael Opeyemi ranked first with 10 motions, while Ihonvbere also topped the House with 12 motions.
For petitions, Senator Ngwu Osita submitted the most in the upper chamber (3), while Okey Onuakalusi of Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency in Lagos led the House with 14 petitions.
On points of order, Opeyemi and Ali Ndume (Borno South) led the Senate with six each, while Ahmed Jaha (Borno) had the highest in the House, also with six.
ERGAF-Africa said the report was designed as a policy instrument to restore robust legislative deliberations, ensure lawmakers remain accountable to their constituents, and strengthen Nigeria’s participatory democracy.
The group urged citizens to scrutinise the performance of their representatives, noting that active engagement in debates, motions, and lawmaking is the core duty of parliamentarians.