Podium ReportersPodium Reporters
  • Home
  • News
  • Economy
    • Global
    • Nigerian
  • Education
  • Politics
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Europe
    • Finance
    • Nigeria
    • US & Canada
    • World
  • Science
    • Health
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
      • Comedy
      • Ent & Arts
      • Film & Drama
      • Music
      • videos
    • Homes
    • Luxury
    • Media & Culture
  • Sports
  • Others
    • About us
    • Get In Touch

Subscribe to Updates

Get daily mail of the latest news from the Podium Reporters

[email-subscribers-form id="1"]
What's new

Tinubu’s election free and fair, sign of Nigeria’s enduring democracy – Washington Post

22 March 2023

Victory not just mine, but every Lagosian — Sanwo-Olu

20 March 2023

INEC declares Sanwo-Olu winner of Lagos Guber polls

20 March 2023
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • Tinubu’s election free and fair, sign of Nigeria’s enduring democracy – Washington Post
  • Victory not just mine, but every Lagosian — Sanwo-Olu
  • INEC declares Sanwo-Olu winner of Lagos Guber polls
  • 24 hours to Lagos Guber polls, leadership dispute over LP ‘legitimate’ candidate lingers
  • FIRS Signs MoU with UK’s HM Revenue and Customs For Collaboration On Capacity Building
  • NASS leadership: Group roots for Hon. Sada Soli as Reps Speaker
  • Leaked letter from Tinubu’s camp shows president-elect wants to build bridges, reconcile aggrieved individuals
  • ‘Defeat, part of politics; perish thought of self-exile’, Tinubu tells Bode George
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Wednesday, March 22
Podium ReportersPodium Reporters
Demo
  • Home
  • News
  • Economy
    • Global
    • Nigerian
  • Education
  • Politics
    1. Asia
    2. Africa
    3. Europe
    4. Finance
    5. Nigeria
    6. US & Canada
    7. World
    8. View All

    ISWAP KINGPINS ALI KWAYA, BUKAR MAINOKA AND OTHERS NEUTRALIZED IN NAF AIR STRIKES AT BELOWA NEAR LAKE CHAD

    7 November 2022

    End of the road for Odinga as Supreme Court affirms Ruto’s victory

    5 September 2022

    Gov. Sanwo-Olu named Tuberculosis eradication champion, rolls out state plans for TB

    26 August 2022

    Ghana Cedi confirmed world’s worst-performing currency as country battles worsening economic crisis

    18 August 2022

    Breaking: Queen Elizabeth II is dead

    8 September 2022

    Naira redesign to have positive impact on the economy – Experts

    27 October 2022

    FG will stop paying petrol subsidy June 2023 – Minister

    22 August 2022

    Victory not just mine, but every Lagosian — Sanwo-Olu

    20 March 2023

    INEC declares Sanwo-Olu winner of Lagos Guber polls

    20 March 2023

    24 hours to Lagos Guber polls, leadership dispute over LP ‘legitimate’ candidate lingers

    17 March 2023

    ‘Defeat, part of politics; perish thought of self-exile’, Tinubu tells Bode George

    15 March 2023

    Ogun Amotekun arrest man with bloodstained pants

    13 October 2022

    UNGA77: I’ll leave behind credible election in 2023 – Buhari 

    22 September 2022

    Buhari pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

    9 September 2022

    Tinubu’s election free and fair, sign of Nigeria’s enduring democracy – Washington Post

    22 March 2023

    Victory not just mine, but every Lagosian — Sanwo-Olu

    20 March 2023

    INEC declares Sanwo-Olu winner of Lagos Guber polls

    20 March 2023

    24 hours to Lagos Guber polls, leadership dispute over LP ‘legitimate’ candidate lingers

    17 March 2023
  • Science
    1. Health
    2. View All

    Kogi Reference Hospital: Yahaya Bello’s Pure Genius

    28 April 2022

    Kwara hosts 22 APC States’ meeting on improving healthcare access

    26 August 2021

    Distinction: Sanwo-Olu Gets A+ Rating In Covid-19, Security, Infrastructure – Report

    10 August 2021

    Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s Coronavirus Press Statement

    11 July 2021

    FACT CHECK: Video of Elon Musk endorsing Obi fake, part of dangerous disinformation campaign

    31 August 2022

    Metaverse ecosystem market to hit $2t by 2030

    3 August 2022

    Navigating Virtual Market in an African Context by Babatunde Adekanmbi

    10 July 2022

    Kogi Reference Hospital: Yahaya Bello’s Pure Genius

    28 April 2022
  • Lifestyle
    1. Entertainment
    2. Comedy
    3. Ent & Arts
    4. Film & Drama
    5. Music
    6. videos
    7. Homes
    8. Luxury
    9. Media & Culture
    10. View All

    ‘I want my old life back’, BBNaija star, Phyna cries out

    15 March 2023

    Cubana Chief Priest endorses Sanwo-Olu for second term

    6 March 2023

    I didn’t collect money from any candidate — Toyin Abraham

    21 February 2023

    Rema returns with two new songs for 2023

    17 February 2023

    Photos: Banky W, Adesua finally reveal son

    17 September 2022

    SSANU, NASU call off strike after meeting with FG

    20 August 2022

    Sanwo-Olu Inspects 1,188-unit Sangotedo Housing Project, Sets Deadlines for Commissioning

    17 September 2021

    Did you know? – Perfumery edition

    10 August 2022

    Do You Know Who Wore the First Lipstick?

    10 August 2022

    Nigeria’s database increased by 150% in three years, Pantami recounts success of NIM

    17 September 2022

    Nigeria, Qatar set for partnership over cultural promotion

    7 September 2022

    Ooni of Ife marries new wife, Mariam

    7 September 2022

    FACT CHECK: Video of Elon Musk endorsing Obi fake, part of dangerous disinformation campaign

    31 August 2022

    ‘I want my old life back’, BBNaija star, Phyna cries out

    15 March 2023

    Cubana Chief Priest endorses Sanwo-Olu for second term

    6 March 2023

    I didn’t collect money from any candidate — Toyin Abraham

    21 February 2023

    Rema returns with two new songs for 2023

    17 February 2023
  • Sports
  • Others
    • About us
    • Get In Touch
Podium ReportersPodium Reporters
Home » News » Ahmad Lawan and a reporter’s jaundice
Politics

Ahmad Lawan and a reporter’s jaundice

By Adekunle27 September 2021No Comments0 Views11 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Reddit WhatsApp

By Ola Awoniyi

Bad news is good news in journalism. But the axiom of the profession which states that facts are sacred does not permit a practitioner to manufacture bad news. Also, the principles of fairness and balance do not permit him to cherry pick facts so as to arrive at a predetermined conclusion.

In his feature of 24 September, 2021, titled: “Absolute Rubber Stamp: Lawan-led Senate Joins Buhari’s Kitchen Cabinet, Leads Presidency Annex, Rolls Out Bills of Oppression Against Nigerians”, the Punch reporter, Sunday Aborisade, apparently set the headline first and then went fishing for evidence that fit into the headline. His profession and the readers of his newspaper deserve better from Mr Aborisade.

Of course, there is a background to this. I have been accosted on many occasions by my journalist colleagues at the National Assembly complex with the joke that the Ninth Assembly that took off in 2019 has made their beat boring. They said, unlike before, there are no daily crises to report. No spectacles. No brickbats flying out of the chambers in the direction of the Aso Rock Villa.

Before, they said, as soon as you file a report that the Senate had turned down Buhari’s request for something, you prepared for rumours of a plot by the Executive to remove the Senate President, which in turn gave birth to real live dramas. Such used to keep reporters busy and make the beat interesting.

I always shared a good laugh with them, even though I could feel the nostalgia in the jokes. I knew reporting the National Assembly used to be more “interesting”, especially for the reporters who are unaware or just do not care about the collateral damages that avoidable political conflicts wreak on the economy and general polity.

Since the inauguration of the Ninth National Assembly, there have been criticisms of its relationship with the Executive Arm of the Government. Some political commentators insist that a warm relationship between the two makes the National Assembly a lapdog of the President. In that school of thought, parliament demonstrates independence and efficiency only by barking and sniping at the heels of the president and his officials, and being uncooperative with him on his policies, appointments, and expenditure plans, etc. This, even if both sides were elected on the same political platform.

Others have explained why this should not be the norm for a developing country and democracy. Apparently, those who see politics as a bloody sport will never believe a game is on until they can count the bodies.

Please take another look at the headline of Mr Aborisade’s report at issue here. I can understand coming across such on social media or some unprofessional online platforms. Certainly not in a mainstream newspaper, because of the robust gate keeping mechanism expected to be in place to protect the integrity of the publication. Unfortunately, this was published by the respected Punch Newspapers and written by their Senate correspondent.

The kicker of the headline sufficiently betrays the bias of the reporter. But that is really not my concern, as democracy anticipates mischief sometimes joining the delegation of free speech. My concern is to examine the issues Mr Aborisade raised.

On the face of it, the reporter’s purpose was to hit the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and the Ninth Senate over their cordial working relationship with the Executive. However, I can recall that this young reporter was also acerbic in his reporting of the Eight Senate, which did not exactly enjoy a cordial relationship with the Executive. Does that mean Mr Aborisade understands his role as merely to condemn the relationship between the two arms, whether frosty or cordial? Is it the case with him of damned if you do and damned if you don’t?

The reporter started his report by describing the tension in the chamber during the election of Senator Lawan as the 14th President of the Senate as a sign that the ruling party had no confidence in its candidate winning. Does Mr Aborisade really expect tension to be absent in an election of such magnitude?

In some parliaments, the officers are chosen by party caucuses and ratified in the chambers. But that has not been the case in the Nigerian National Assembly since 1999. Parties’ choices have been challenged by their members in parliament in almost every dispensation. And that has nothing to do with the mode of election – senators are distinguished citizens who you cannot force to pick a leader they do not want.

That Lawan got the endorsement of his party and its Senate caucus does not mean the celebration of his victory could start before the election was called. So whatever anxiety Mr Aborisade noticed during that election of the Senate President on 11 June, 2019 was not a query of the party’s judgment.

The reporter also declared that an “unholy alliance” between the Senate and the Executive has “done more damage than good to our country.” To the contrary, the cordial relationship with the two other arms of government has so far facilitated the legislative business of the Ninth Assembly. I will cite a few examples of how this has happened.

On his assumption of office as Senate President, Lawan took up the task to reset and stabilize the national budget cycle to January – December to make the fiscal calendar predictable. Not a few people thought it was a tall order. The sceptics had a genuine case: before Lawan, others had tried but failed. Now it is a done deal, to the benefits of Nigerians and the economy. That was no doubt helped by the President ensuring the MDAs concluded their internal budget processes to fit into the schedule set by the National Assembly.

I can also recall the confidence the Senate President exuded the week that the National Assembly finally passed the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract Act (Amendment) Bill 2019. At a function at the National Assembly, Lawan remarked that the bill would be passed that week and that the President would assent to it the following week. Knowing the antecedents of that ritual, I expunged those remarks from the official press release because I was curious about how that could happen.

More so that the Presidency had earlier announced that the President was travelling to London that weekend. I felt the bill would wait for the President to return to the country. I was also aware of the pressure being mounted by the International Oil Companies (IOCs) in particular against the bill.

Lawan’s confidence turned out not to be misplaced. The bill was passed that week and the President signed it the following week in London as the Senate President had predicted. That wouldn’t have been possible without a cordial working relationship between the two arms of government that put them on the same page on important national issues. We all know the benefits expected from the passage of that amendment.

Take the Petroleum Industry Bill recently signed into law by the President. President Buhari had reasons to hold back his assent. Instead, he decided to pursue an amendment to provisions of the PIA that he is not comfortable with, which he did just 36 days after assenting to the bill.

There are many more such developments which can be attributed to the two arms swinging in unity. We still have the record of how many bills were denied presidential assent in the previous dispensation because of distrust between the two sides. That is certainly not the kind of situation we want to perpetuate. If Nigerians elect the president and the majority of lawmakers from the same party, they certainly expect them to cooperate in pursuing the agenda of that party for national development.

Mr Aborisade also magisterially declared that the “Ninth Senate under Lawan rolled out the most wicked, draconian and anti-people Bills since 1999.” His evidence? “The Social Media Bill, Hate Speech Bill, Amnesty for Repentant Terrorists Bill, the Health Emergency Bill.” Phew, what a judgment!

For the purpose of clarity and better understanding, I hereby quote the first four paragraphs of the report titled: Quarantine Bill scaled second reading in Senate”, written by the same Punch Senate correspondent and published on 18th February, 2021 when the Health Emergency Bill was considered in plenary:

“The Senate on Wednesday considered a bill enacted to repeal the obsolete Quarantine Act enacted in 1926.

“The proposed legislation was also aimed at helping Nigeria to deal with any impending outbreak of infectious and contagious diseases in the future.

“Tagged “The Health Emergency Bill, 2021,” the Bill scaled second reading in the floor of the Senate at plenary.

“The proposed legislation did not make it mandatory for any Nigerian to be subjected to forced immunisation.”

Mr Aborisade made that report. The same reporter, as if just returning from a trip to Damascus, has now called the Bill one of the “most wicked, draconian and anti-people Bills since 1999” in the same newspaper!

Did you notice too that the report did not state when the “Draconian” Bills were passed by the Senate? The omission was deliberate. None of them has passed!

As the National Assembly correspondent of one of the nation’s major newspapers, I assume Mr Aborisade knows the working of the Parliament and the stages involved in the lawmaking process. Any lawmaker can table a bill for consideration. It is a privilege which cannot be denied even by the Senate President who is just first among equals.

Senators at plenary, eventually, pass or reject a Bill only after a public hearing where members of the public express their views on the proposed legislation.

Was Mr Aborisade saying the Senate President ought to have blocked his colleague senators from proposing laws because Mr Aborisade considers them “most wicked, draconian and anti-people”?

Because of the obvious intention of the write-up, the reporter did not remember any achievement of the Senate in the last two years. He could not recall even the restoration of the budget cycle which he had praised in his own report.

What about the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contact (Amendment) Act, 2019 that jacked up Nigeria’s share of its oil revenues from 150 million dollars to 1.5 billion dollars annually?

The reporter did not remember the Finance Act which specifically amended 17 other legislations to support key reforms in taxation, customs, excise, fiscal and other laws.

He also completely forgot the fundamental amendment made to the Company and Allied Matters Act. Or the Sexual Harassment Bill which criminalises sexual harassment in tertiary institutions in Nigeria or several other Bills proposing the establishment of more educational and health institutions across Nigeria.

The reporter belongs to the school of thought that Nigeria’s loan burden is as a result of the “Senate Loyalty” to the Executive. First, approval of loan requests is not the exclusive responsibility of the Senate.

People have expressed different opinions on the loans, as you would expect in a plural society and free country. The Senate has explained that the burden accumulated over time and that the current loans are made necessary by the need to invest in infrastructure, a need neglected due to misplacement of priority and corruption when Nigeria had the money to meet it in the recent past.

Senator Lawan has formed his opinion from more than two decades of being in the National Assembly on how it should best relate with the other arms of Government. He believes that the benefits of a cordial relationship far outweigh those of rancour. Lawan understands that other Nigerians have their own opinions on this and other national issues. He also accepts that he could be vilified for promoting an approach that seeks stability in governance and discourages avoidable conflict in the polity.

But when a reporter decides to sit in judgment on the views and actions of public officials and institutions, he should remember those principles of fairness and balance that make the media an indispensable estate of the realm.

***Awoniyi is Special Adviser on Media to Senate President

Ahmed Lawan NASS Nigerian Senate Ola Awóníyì
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Telegram Email WhatsApp

Related Posts

03 Views

Tinubu’s election free and fair, sign of Nigeria’s enduring democracy – Washington Post

22 March 20232 Mins Read
00 Views

Victory not just mine, but every Lagosian — Sanwo-Olu

20 March 20233 Mins Read
00 Views

INEC declares Sanwo-Olu winner of Lagos Guber polls

20 March 20231 Min Read
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Demo
Top Posts

EXCLUSIVE: Obi agrees to deal to clear path for Atiku’s emergence

26 August 202222K Views

“We have no record of crime against Tinubu” – US declares, falsifies drug dealing allegations

8 November 202211K Views

“Yorubas are from lineage of traitors and cowards, will soon be landless” – Kennena Eloka, prominent Obi supporter, fumes on social media

8 October 20227K Views

Uproar as Obi demands over N1M in gate fees to address Nigerians

4 September 20226K Views
Lifestyle
Entertainment

‘I want my old life back’, BBNaija star, Phyna cries out

By Victor Fola15 March 20231 Views

Big Brother Naija Season 7 winner, Ijeoma Josephina Otabor aka Phyna has yearned for her…

Cubana Chief Priest endorses Sanwo-Olu for second term

6 March 2023

I didn’t collect money from any candidate — Toyin Abraham

21 February 2023

Rema returns with two new songs for 2023

17 February 2023
Find us on social media folow
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest news from us.

Demo
About
About

It is our belief that the growth of any society depends on the quality of its journalism. We live up to this ideal by providing factual and full information on politics, sports, entertainment and culture so citizens can make informed decisions and act in defence of the truth.

Facebook Twitter
Recommended

Tinubu’s election free and fair, sign of Nigeria’s enduring democracy – Washington Post

22 March 20232 Mins Read

Victory not just mine, but every Lagosian — Sanwo-Olu

20 March 20233 Mins Read

INEC declares Sanwo-Olu winner of Lagos Guber polls

20 March 20231 Min Read
Most Popular

EXCLUSIVE: Obi agrees to deal to clear path for Atiku’s emergence

26 August 202222K Views

“We have no record of crime against Tinubu” – US declares, falsifies drug dealing allegations

8 November 202211K Views

“Yorubas are from lineage of traitors and cowards, will soon be landless” – Kennena Eloka, prominent Obi supporter, fumes on social media

8 October 20227K Views
© 2023 The Podium Reporters. Designed by Marvelworx Limited.
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Science
  • Sports

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.