When the 10th National Assembly was inaugurated on June 13, 2023, Nigerians had high expectations from their elected representatives. With the emergence of Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen as Speaker of the 10th House, the stage was set for genuine legislative work. This is not only because he was—and still is—a lawmaker par excellence, but also because he enjoyed overwhelming support from his colleagues to get things done. Here was a legislator who broke the lawmaking ceiling by becoming the first and only parliamentarian in Nigeria’s history to have sponsored 74 bills in a single term. What’s more, he had 22 of those enacted into law. So, he came to the job well credentialed and fully ready. From the onset, the 10th House christened itself ‘The People’s House,’ reflecting its commitment to making Parliament genuinely representative of the Nigerian people. It also established a roadmap for itself through its Legislative Agenda, which centres on eight thematic areas: Social Sector Reform and Development; Economic Reform and Development; Strengthening Good Governance; Law Reform; Enhancing National Security; Climate and Environment; Inclusion and Open Parliament; and Foreign Policy. Statutorily speaking, lawmakers are tasked with three key functions: lawmaking, oversight, and representation. Thus, any evaluation of their performance should focus on these three key areas. Three years on, how has the 10th House fared thus far? During the recent unveiling of its three-year scorecard, the House disclosed that it received a total of 2,747 bills, of which 371 were passed and 72 were signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. This marks the first time in Nigeria’s democratic history that any Parliament has passed such a large volume of legislation. It is also the first time in history that a president has signed such a large number of bills into law. In terms of the number of bills passed per thematic area of the Legislative Agenda, the House scorecard, a 128-page document, indicated that 242 (65.2%) fell under Social Sector Reform and Development; 39 (10.5%) were under Economic Reform and Development; 34 (9.2%) were for Strengthening Good Governance; 19 (5.1%) for Law Reform; 15 (4%) for Improving National Security; 10 (2.7%) for Climate and Environment; 10 (2.7%) for Inclusion and Open Parliament, while 2 (0.5%) were for Foreign Policy. The scorecard, titled ‘Third-Year Performance Assessment,’ further revealed that out of the 2,747 bills received, 2,595 (94.5%) were Members’ Bills, 95 (3.4%) came from the Senate, and 57 (2.1%) originated from the Executive branch. Again, out of the 371 bills passed by the House, 341 (91.9%) were private Members’ Bills, whereas 30 (8.1%) belonged to the Executive branch. It is worth noting that some landmark laws enacted by the 10th House include the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024; the four Tax Acts of 2025 (Nigeria Tax Act, Nigeria Tax Administration Act, Nigeria Revenue Service Act, and Joint Revenue Board Act); the Regional Development Commissions Acts covering North-West, North-Central, South-East, South-South, and South-West regions; the Electoral (Amendment) Act; the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act; and the National Anthem Act, among others. Next up is oversight. Over the three-year period, different House committees conducted a total of 766 oversight activities, including 480 oversight or inspection visits, 135 familiarisation or courtesy visits, 84 investigative hearings, and 67 public hearings. These oversight engagements were far from futile, leading to the recovery of billions of naira in taxpayers’ funds. For instance, the three-year assessment report revealed that in March 2025, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House reported cumulative recoveries amounting to N50.1 billion from unremitted royalties and taxes by oil and gas companies. By June 2025, Speaker Abbas put the figure at N61.5 billion. In the realm of representation, this is where citizens’ motions and petitions take effect. Over the course of three years, the House deliberated on a total of 1,320 motions and matters of urgent public importance, most of which reflected the interests of various constituents or aimed to tackle issues directly affecting citizens’ lives. A total of 1,302 motions were addressed and referred to various committees, with 460 identified as matters of urgent public importance. The three-year assessment report revealed that 458 motions (34.7%) addressed Social Sector Reform and Development; 255 (19.3%) focused on National Security; 186 (14.1%) pertained to Economic Growth; 178 (13.5%) centered on Good Governance; 151 (11.4%) concerned Climate and Environment; 41 (3.1%) dealt with Law Reform; 38 (2.9%) related to Inclusion and Open Parliament, and 11 (0.8%) involved Foreign Policy. The report also stated that the House referred a total of 857 petitions to the Committee on Public Petitions. These petitions originated from civil servant
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