The National Assembly has rarely rejected or disapproved of President Tinubu’s requests. Some of the approvals were done without thorough deliberations

One year into the administration of President Bola Tinubu, the optimism that trailed the outcome of the February 2023 National Assembly election results has waned as the anticipation of vibrancy from a diverse parliament has been dashed.

The opposition lawmakers, according to many observers, including opposition politicians, have refused to play the roles expected of them such as serving as a watchdog and critic of the ruling government, defending their party’s interest and espousing what their party would have done differently if it were the government in power. Paul Ibe, an opposition politician and spokesperson of the runner-up in last year’s presidential election described the current parliament, including opposition lawmakers, as a “lapdog” of the executive.

This is happening despite the 2023 general election producing some of the biggest upsets in recent elections in Nigeria, particularly at the National Assembly, where the Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) won enough seats to prevent a bi-party dominance by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

For instance, the LP had 34 seats in the House of Representatives and eight in the Senate. The NNPP had 18 seats in the House and two in the upper chamber. Other smaller parties won some seats as well.