Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday pushed back against criticism of the National Assembly over the ongoing amendment of Nigeria’s Electoral Act, accusing some civil society actors of misunderstanding the legislative process and engaging in what he described as “mouth legislating”.
Akpabio’s remarks followed public complaints by a civil society organisation (CSO) leader who had described the current Senate as the “worst” and faulted lawmakers for what he called an incomplete amendment of the Electoral Act.
Responding on the Senate floor, Akpabio said the comments were premature and showed a lack of knowledge of how laws are made.
“There’s a man who heads one civil society organisation. I saw him on television abusing the Senate — the same Senate he makes money from,” Akpabio said. “He said the Electoral Act amendment is incomplete. Yes, it is not completed, but they are already on television. They don’t understand lawmaking.”
The Senate president explained that no bill becomes final until lawmakers have considered and adopted the Votes and Proceedings, a formal record that allows senators to revisit and correct agreed clauses before final approval.
“What is in the Senate is not completed until we look at the votes and proceedings,” he said. “Any senator can rise and say, ‘On clause three, this was what we agreed upon,’ and it can be amended before approval. That is the only time you can talk about what the Senate has done or not done.”
Akpabio criticised public commentators who, he said, seek to influence legislation from outside the chamber without participating in the democratic process.
“People have become mouth legislators,” he said. “If you want to talk about lawmaking, go and contest elections and join them to make the law.”
He also rejected claims that agreements reached during legislative retreats amounted to binding decisions, stressing that such meetings were consultative rather than legislative.
“Retreats are not lawmaking; retreats are part of consultations,” Akpabio said. “So why do you think that what was agreed on paper during a retreat must be what is agreed on the floor?”
The Electoral Act amendment is a key component of Nigeria’s electoral reforms ahead of future polls, with lawmakers expected to continue deliberations before presenting a final version for approval.
