“NASS has failed to check Tinubu’s power” — Melaye

Former Kogi West lawmaker and African Democratic Congress chieftain, Dino Melaye, has accused the 10th National Assembly of failing to provide sufficient oversight of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

Mr Melaye criticised Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, arguing that the legislature has not been sufficiently independent in scrutinising executive decisions on electoral reforms, constitutional amendments, budget implementation and other national issues.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, Mr Melaye said the role of the National Assembly goes beyond passing bills and approving government proposals.

He argued that Parliament must scrutinise executive actions, amend or reject proposals where necessary, and ensure presidential powers remain within constitutional limits.

Mr Melaye said, “Cooperation is different from submission,” insisting that lawmakers must be willing to challenge the executive when necessary.

He added that his criticism was directed at the performance of the institution and not personally at Mr Akpabio or Mr Abbas.

Police Act amendment raises questions

Mr Melaye cited the July 2024 amendment to the Nigeria Police Act as one example of what he described as inadequate legislative scrutiny.

He noted that the amendment allowed an Inspector-General of Police to remain in office until the expiration of the tenure stated in his appointment letter, notwithstanding the normal retirement provisions.

According to Mr Melaye, the bill passed through first, second and third readings in both chambers on the same day.

He questioned the speed of the process, particularly because the amendment initially benefited former IGP Kayode Egbetokun, who had previously served as Mr Tinubu’s Chief Security Officer when he was Lagos State governor.

Mr Egbetokun left office in February 2026 and was succeeded by Olatunji Disu, who had also served as Mr Tinubu’s aide-de-camp while he was governor.

Mr Melaye, however, acknowledged that those appointments did not by themselves establish wrongdoing or electoral manipulation.

Rivers emergency rule, Electoral reforms

Mr Melaye also questioned the National Assembly’s handling of the March 2025 declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.

He raised concerns about whether the voting procedure used by both chambers met the constitutional requirement for a two-thirds majority of all members.

On electoral reform, Mr Melaye criticised the House of Representatives’ handling of a motion concerning mandatory real-time electronic transmission of election results.

The House had adopted the provision in December 2025 before lawmakers reconsidered their position in February 2026, a move that triggered protests and disorder in the chamber.

Mr Melaye asked, “What becomes of parliamentary representation when members say ‘nay’ and the presiding officer declares ‘aye’ to please the President?”

Questions over billions in public funds

The ADC chieftain also criticised what he described as inadequate legislative oversight of budget implementation and public expenditure.

He cited Service-Wide Votes of approximately ₦4.08tn in 2024, ₦9.31tn in 2025 and ₦12.83tn in 2026, a combined ₦26.22tn over the three years.

Although Mr Melaye acknowledged explanations from the Budget Office that the 2026 allocation covered identifiable government obligations, including personnel costs, recurrent expenditure and capital projects, he argued that the scale of the funds demanded stronger scrutiny and transparency.

He said the National Assembly has a responsibility to track how appropriated funds are released and spent.

‘A lifetime presidency’ warning

Mr Melaye also warned against what he described as the gradual weakening of institutional checks on presidential power.

He clarified that his reference to a “lifetime presidency” was not an allegation that President Tinubu had abolished term limits or intended to remain in office indefinitely.

Rather, he said the concern was that presidential power could become increasingly difficult to restrain if institutions responsible for providing checks and balances fail to perform their constitutional duties.

Mr Melaye said, “The oath they took was to the Constitution, not to the President.”

Efforts to obtain a response from the Clerk of the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, were unsuccessful.

According to The Punch, Mr Ogunlana neither answered calls nor responded to a text message seeking clarification on Mr Melaye’s allegations as of the time of filing.