This is the time of year when people make their New Year’s resolutions. Resolutions, which can have both immediate and long-term effects on people, are essentially priorities that people set for themselves for a year.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, Ph.D., will motivate the 10th House to have a beneficial influence on Nigerians in 2025 by using his deliberate leadership. The House, which he has been kindly leading since June 13, 2023, will accomplish this through a variety of legislative initiatives.
The Legislative Agenda of the 10th House, a comprehensive and strong policy statement that essentially lays out the goals of the Parliament through 2027, is the foundation for these initiatives. Speaker Abbas has been pushing for progress on the House’s manifesto, and more is anticipated in the next year.
The Speaker has repeatedly emphasized his intention to bring about substantial reforms to the parliamentary system and the nation at large, both formally and informally, in various fora. He took decisive action to demonstrate this in 2024. In the upcoming year, he has promised Nigerians that they will continue to take even more actions of this nature.
It will be fitting to refer to 2024 as Speaker Abbas’ Advocacy Year. The Speaker personally spearheaded a number of initiatives aimed at empowering and integrating women into the nation’s politics and government. He also taught young Nigerians the value of honesty, hard work, and leadership.
Because of his bold gender-based advocacy and campaigns, the Speaker publicly proclaimed himself as a #HeForShe and has received recognition from even international organizations. Last year, he had two meetings with young people in Nigeria. The previous year saw a number of stakeholder discussions on a range of national concerns.
In addition to his World Press Conference on February 8, 2024, which was the first of its kind by a speaker, there were engagements on the Review of the 1999 Constitution to receive memoranda from stakeholders on amendment bills; a “Town Hall with youth groups and organizations” to hear the hopes and dreams of young Nigerians; a national dialogue on state policing to receive ideas from stakeholders on the proposed decentralization of the current unitary Nigeria Police Force; and the first-ever live citizens’ engagement, which brought together Nigerians from all walks of life to engage with the Speaker and the House leadership on the Green Chamber’s operations.
“Critically, I am leading an amendment to the Police Act 2022 to ensure uniformity in the enlistment requirements for men and women; amend the rule that excludes married women from enlisting in the police and delete the regulation that provides that unmarried women may only marry after they have served in the police for three years, subject to approval from a police commissioner,” Speaker Abbas said at a National Assembly event held on March 7, 2024, to commemorate International Women’s Day.
He also set a classic example on October 1, 2024, when he decided to celebrate Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day anniversary with secondary school pupils from public schools, which are attended by the poorer classes, rather than the affluent institutions that dot Abuja, the country’s capital. It was also the Speaker’s birthday, by coincidence.
Speaker Abbas engaged with students who were teenagers. They asked him a variety of questions, some of which focused on his career, education, children’s rights, and goals for Nigerian youth. He used the opportunity to share with them his life’s journey, beginning with his modest upbringing and continuing through his personal growth to achieve both political and financial success.
As an accountant who taught before entering politics, Speaker Abbas naturally revealed his intention to go back to teaching after politics.
The International Day of the Girl Child was also celebrated on Thursday, October 10, 2024, when Speaker Abbas honored the girl child in plenary by giving up his seat to Ms. Isabel Anani, a 16-year-old gender campaigner, who led a special session.
The Speaker asked for a big acknowledgment of the girl child in plenary on Thursday, the penultimate sitting day of the week, even though the United Nations declared October 11 to be the International Day of the Girl Child.
Speaker Abbas stated before leaving his seat that the day celebrated girls’ tenacity, potential, and vital role in creating a brighter future while highlighting the difficulties they confront globally.
A resolution that was unanimously approved by the House was presented under the direction of the “Shadow Speaker.”
It was proposed by Hon. Kafilat Ogbara, the chairman of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, and seconded by Hon. Akin Rotimi, the chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs. The motion was titled “Commemoration of the 2024 International Day of the Girl Child.”
Under the 16 Days Activism Against Gender-Based Violence initiative, the Speaker also led the House’s leadership and members in a historic action on Monday, November 25, 2024, to honor the 2024 celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The event’s theme was “No Excuse for Violence.”
In support of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), the Speaker led a walk with his wife, Hajiya Fatima Abbas Tajudeen.
Halfway through the trip, the Speaker told the throng at the National Assembly’s main entrance that the 10th House was prepared to take more action in the fight against GBV and VAWG.
“We in the parliament must unite – more than ever before – with the relevant authorities, particularly the law enforcement in order to ensure that we curb this dangerous trend to the barest minimum,” Speaker Abbas said, referring to November 25 as “the day of history.”
The advocacy train traveled from the National Assembly Complex to the Nigeria Police Force’s Force Headquarters, where the House petitioned Mr. Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector-General of Police, to demand that Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) be properly investigated and prosecuted.
Speaker Abbas has twice called for women to be paired with men for all elected positions in the Executive branch in upcoming elections. He maintained that if a political party had a male candidate for president, a female candidate should be the vice president; the same goes for chairmanship and governorships, and vice versa.
During various meetings between the House and her organization, Elsie Attafuah, the UNDP’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, commended the Speaker’s efforts.
Additionally, the United Nations Women, under the direction of Dr. Maxime Houinato, its Regional Director for West and Central Africa, praised the Speaker’s efforts and awarded him a special advocacy badge in appreciation of his persistent support for the inclusion of more women in politics and government.
As anticipated, the Abbas-led House will have more work to do in 2025, and the Speaker is determined to complete it faithfully and diligently for the benefit of Nigeria and its people, fulfilling his steadfast goal of changing the world and leaving a lasting impression.
Baiyewu serves as the Speaker of the House of Representatives’ chief press secretary.
