Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Tajudeen Abbas, has shed light on the rationale behind the expansion of the House’s standing committees from 109 to approximately 137.
He emphasized that this increase was not driven by a desire to grant more leadership positions within the House but rather to enhance the efficiency of the House’s oversight functions.
During an interactive session with members of the House of Representatives Press Corps in Abuja, Hon Abbas explained that some of the existing committees had become too extensive to effectively carry out their oversight duties.
He said for instance, the Committee on Tertiary Education was tasked with supervising over 300 agencies, making it challenging to oversee all of them comprehensively. To address this issue and ensure greater efficiency, the House decided to restructure the committees, allowing for more focused oversight.
As part of this restructuring, the Committee on Tertiary Education has been subdivided into distinct committees responsible for University Education, Federal Polytechnic oversight, Federal Colleges of Education, and management of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
Furthermore, Hon Abbas revealed that the House has established a monitoring committee to oversee and evaluate the performance of the various standing committees, ensuring they remain diligent in their duties.
In her earlier remarks, Grace Ike, the Chairperson of the House of Press Corps, emphasized the media’s role in promoting good governance through objective and balanced reporting. She stressed the importance of leaders engaging with the media and fostering mutual understanding to achieve success in their endeavors.