We’re Not Rubber Stamp — Senate Leader Defends NASS over Executive Bill Passages

• Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, has told Nigerians to stop calling the 10th National Assembly a “rubber-stamp” parliament, saying the label is unjustified.

• He cited the slow, consultative passage of the Tax Reform Bills and the 2025 Appropriation Act as evidence of legislative independence and due diligence.

The Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has urged Nigerians to desist from tagging the 10th National Assembly as a “rubber-stamp parliament.”

In a statement released on Sunday through his office’s Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, Bamidele said the claim is not backed by facts.

He argued that “there is no justification for calling us a rubber-stamp institution,” especially considering the extensive deliberations and public engagements that preceded the passage of the 2024 Tax Reform Bills.

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“If we are actually a rubber-stamp parliamentary institution, as most opposition political parties have claimed, the bills would have been passed within one week or two weeks after they were laid before us,” he said.

The Senate leader noted that both arms of government held over 39 consultations involving civil society, religious leaders, industry captains, and professionals before the bills were passed.

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He added, “We extended our engagements to all captains of industries… to ensure the overriding public interest.”

Bamidele also cited the delayed passage of the 2025 budget. “We did not give the budget back to the executive until February 2025,” despite its presentation in December 2024.

“Every committee of the National Assembly duly engaged heads of agencies to properly scrutinise the budget,” he said, adding that the legislature remains committed to good governance and not subservience to the executive.

“Our actions are based on due diligence and the constitutional duty to deliver effective governance,” Bamidele added.