Legislature not ‘lapdog’ of the executive, Reps Minority Caucus tackles House Spokesperson

The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has vowed that it will keep speaking for Nigerians, “even if the Majority Caucus elects to capitulate at the altar of blind partisanship.”

The Caucus said this while responding to a statement issued by Akin Rotimi, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, on Friday.

Rotimi had in the statement purportedly issued on behalf of the House tackled the Minority Caucus over its earlier statement condemning the failure of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to rise up to the challenge of increasing insecurity and the hardship in the country.

But while faulting the statement, the minority Caucus in a statement by its spokesperson, Victor Afam Ogene on Saturday affirmed that it is the constitutional duty of Parliament to hold the Executive to account.

The Caucus noted that President Tinubu while in opposition recognized this fact when he rightly declared that _“the buck stops at the President’s table.”

“That constitutional position has not changed. Thus, the legislature must never look away when the country bleeds,” Ogene said in the statement.

The opposition lawmakers also noted that the Executive has repeatedly failed to honour commitments made to the Nigerian people through the Parliament.

” But rather than demand accountability, the House Spokesman has chosen to defend the indefensible.

“The Caucus declares, unequivocally, that Parliament is not, and will never be, a lapdog of the Executive. We will keep speaking for Nigerians, even if the Majority Caucus elects to capitulate at the altar of blind partisanship, shredding the sacred doctrine of checks and balances, upon which democracy either bleeds or thrives”

The Minority Caucus also decried what it described as as “procedural impropriety” exhibited by the House Spokesman in the statement he purportedly issued on behalf of the parliament.

“The deployment of the phrase – “House Notes”- in his statement is improper, misleading, and constitutes a flagrant breach of the collective privileges of Members.

“For the record, the last sitting of the House was on Monday, 15th June, 2026. The Minority Caucus addressed the media on Wednesday, 17th June, 2026. No subsequent sitting, meeting, or resolution of the House was convened to authorize a collective position on the matter.

“While the House Spokesman is at liberty to speak for the Speaker, the House Leadership, or the Majority Caucus, he possesses no mandate to purport to speak for the entire House or to misappropriate the views of the Minority Caucus. Such conduct is a clear violation of established parliamentary procedure and an affront to the rights and privileges of Members of the 10th House of Representatives.

“The matters raised by the Minority Caucus fall within the constitutional oversight functions of the National Assembly over the Executive. With numerous spokespersons in the Presidency, it is not the duty of the House Spokesman to embark on an unsolicited defense of the Executive.

“This conduct reinforces public perception of the 10th House as an appendage of the Executive. Sections 14(2)(b) and 88 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) mandate Parliament to ensure the security and welfare of the people and to expose corruption, inefficiency, and waste. The Minority Caucus will not abdicate this sacred duty.

Ogene added that at an emergency virtual meeting held on Friday, 19th June, 2026, the Minority Caucus unanimously resolved to demand a public apology from the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, for misrepresenting the position of the House and for contempt of the Minority Caucus.

“Failure to render such apology within 72 hours will compel the Caucus to petition the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges for appropriate redress.”

The Caucus, Ogene said, also resolved to formally raise, upon resumption of plenary, the issue of persistent non-implementation of the National Budget since 2024.

“The Caucus notes with alarm that defense and security-related Ministries, Departments, and Agencies have recorded less than 30% budget implementation.

“There is a direct correlation between the non-payment of local contractors, breakdowns of operational logistics, and escalating insecurity across the country. The Armed Forces can not sustainably prosecute campaigns against heavily-armed insurgents under such fiscal constraints” the opposition lawmakers said while vowing to keep speaking for Nigerians.

“The Minority Caucus will keep speaking out for Nigerians, as the Constitution demands. That is not partisanship; it is parliamentary duty. The legislature is the soul of democracy because of its sacred responsibility to the people. If the Majority Caucus chooses to forget this, the Minority Caucus will not continue to abdicate this sacred responsibility,” the Caucus concluded.