The Nigerian Senate has responded to criticisms labeling the current National Assembly as a "rubber stamp" to President Bola Tinubu's administration, insisting that they only approve measures that benefit the Nigerian people.
Senator Yemi Adaramodu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, defended the legislative body while appearing on Arise Television's Prime Time on Thursday evening, stating that the National Assembly approves initiatives that serve the best interests of Nigerians.
"When people say that the National Assembly is rubber stamped, I always ask the question, even when you want to do a certified true copy of any document without the rubber stamp, it's invalid," Adaramodu explained.
"Even when the executive and Judiciary does any process, procedure, or programme, if the rubber stamp is not there – it's not authentic – so to that extent we rubber stamp everything that is good for Nigerians," he added.
Accessibility and Public Perception
The Senate spokesperson acknowledged that legislators often become easy targets for criticism due to their accessibility to constituents compared to other government branches.
"We are the soft target of everybody, we are the most accessible by our constituents because they can't access the executive the way they can have access to us. So definitely, we are the first and last to them," Adaramodu stated.
Using the example of student loans legislation, Adaramodu questioned whether the National Assembly should reject beneficial policies merely to avoid being labeled as compliant with the executive branch.
"Even if it's not a literal rubber stamp and they brought student loans, are we saying we would not stamp it because we don't want some people to say [we're] not in a fisticuff with the executive?" he asked rhetorically.
The Senate's defense comes amid ongoing debates about the independence of Nigeria's legislative branch and its relationship with the executive arm of government under President Tinubu's administration.
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