By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

After about two months of holiday, the National Assembly resumes next week with much expectations. The indications are that the polity which had been largely deflated by the economic recession would be animated by events flowing from within the legislature or provoked by it.

SENATE CHAMBER

By the time the legislators went for their holidays in July, the signs of recession were already surfacing. Salaries and allowances of the legislators and staff were beginning to run into arrears. The schedule of a number of legislative activities, including the promised amendment of the constitution were also beginning to derail, putting a question to the target of delivering an amended constitution well ahead of the 2019 general election.

Many legislators who ordinarily would not go to their constituencies for the simple reason of avoiding the daily demands of constituents, were compelled to stay with those folks they normally would refer as: “The good people of … Constituency.”

The alternative of travelling abroad and escaping from constituents had become more challenging given the increased value of the dollar and the blockages that have made it difficult for the legislators to holiday on the sponsorship of MDAs.

Indeed, travelling abroad during holidays had in the past been a cheaper alternative for some legislators to the financially challenging task of going to the constituencies where they were bound to be daily faced with birthdays, funerals, and diverse ceremonies that would require their contributions. So after spending much of the holidays around ordinary Nigerians, the legislators would have been touched by the feelings of ordinary Nigerians.

But whether they would prioritise that above the other competing demand of politics, and such is another thing. One major issue that is bound to arise in the House of Representatives is the Abdulmumin Jibrin question. Jibrin, under two months almost rubbished the polish that Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and Speaker Yakubu Dogara had sought to paint on the House in the last six years.

It is claimed in some circles that Jibrin is likely to avoid the sittings of the first three days; and that he would observe proceedings from afar to gauge the mood of the House towards him. Some embittered members have been heard to say that should Jibrin show up that he would be physically beaten up.

Whether he shows up or not, he is bound to be referred to the Committee on Ethics to answer questions on his conduct during the holidays. He would be put to task to defend his allegations of budget padding against Speaker Dogara and other leading members of the House. The retribution that would come his way would be swift and without mercy.

Across the lobby in the red chamber, events are also bound to be interesting. With President Muhammadu Buhari’s popularity no longer what it was, it is expected that he would begin to unbend towards the Senate and particularly towards the leadership. Does he have a choice? Many crucial decisions of the presidency that require legislative approval were left unattended before the legislators went on holidays. Among the suspended actions were crucial appointments.

But how the presidency disentangles itself from the two cases it filed against Senate President Bukola Saraki would be quite interesting.

Navigating out of the second case involving Saraki and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu in which the two men and some other National Assembly bureaucrats are charged with illegally changing the Senate Standing Rule is bound to be particularly problematic for the presidency.

The resumption of the case at the end of the month would foreshadow the invitation by the United States Library of Congress, to Senator Ekweremadu to deliver this year’s Constitution Day lecture sometime in October. The honour to Ekweremadu from the Library of Congress is shaped by the fact that he would be the first non-US citizen to deliver the Constitution Day lecture.

The presidency would no doubt fret whether Ekweremadu, the highest political office holder in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP would use the platform to give his narrative of the experience of the opposition since the advent of the new administration. Indeed, it would seem as if everyone has some pain to share in these hard times.