By Dansu Peter
When the 9th Assembly was inaugurated on June 11, 2019, a drastic overhaul was expected. Nigerians anticipated a paradigm shift from the status quo, where lawmakers abandoned their constituencies, instead opting for the exquisite lifestyle in the Federal Capital Territory without any tangible proof of representation.
In Somolu Federal Constituency, Lagos State, for instance, there was little or no dividends of federal presence. Hence, the coming of Hon. Prince Ademorin Aliu Kuye was beseeched to change the ills. Kuye, though, embodied the new dimension of representation; where all residents would be carried along with happenings at the green chambers.
And quite astutely, Hon. Kuye has lived up to the billing one year into his term at the National Assembly. The soft-spoken yet charismatic legislator has infact performed way beyond expectations, shocking the naysayers.
There was a bizarre notion that first-term lawmakers are usually redundant for four years. They are believed to be idle while learning the ropes bereft of the nitty-gritty of astute legislation. Hon. Kuye, however, has already changed the narrative by hitting the ground running.
Dogged, resilient and highly vast, Hon. Kuye, within few weeks after resumption, was able to present bills and various motions at House of Representatives. Analysts are of the view that he has made more impact than the so-called veterans.
Prior to his resumption, Hon. Kuye paid a courtesy visit to the National Orthopaedic Hospital to examine the staff's welfare and how he could use his esteemed office to bring progress to the hospital. This led to the drafting of a motion for the Federal Government to as a matter urgency, attend to the various needs of the hospital, ranging from infrastructural development, provision of medical tools, gadgets etc.
Due to his stunning contributions and willingness to wholeheartedly serve the nation, he was immediately appointed the Deputy Chairman of Rules and Business Committee. It was a first of its kind but that wasn’t all. He was subsequently named a a member of Committees on Air Force, Police Affairs, Justice, Climate Change, Basic Education, Aids, Loans & Debt Management, Financial Crimes, Petroleum Downstream, Public Accounts and FCT.
Buzzing with confidence, Hon. Kuye made his first official speech on the floor of the House of Reps on July 11, 2019, contributing a bill presented by a colleague to establish a Commission. He attracted massive adulation. This marked the beginning of almost a daily timeline of events.
On July 23, during a visit by Mr. Sunday Dare, then a Ministerial Nominee, the lawmaker, instead of the usual politicking tendered the challenges of his people. Barely 24 hours later, he presented his first motion on the ‘Need to Re-equip our National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos’.
Hon. Kuye then rose to amend a motion on the floor seeking the inclusion of Somolu Printing Industry in the installation of Industrial Power project by the FG on July 24. This was another pointer that he wasn’t carried away, already thinking about his people.
July 25 marked his appointment as the Deputy Chairman, Rules and Business Committee. After a long recess, on October 10, Hon. Kuye presented a Bill for an act to reform certain provisions of the 2014 Pension Reform Act, which would among others grant quick access to more money from the retirement savings account after retirement.
"We are ready to provide succor to Nigerians in general and our retirees in particular with effective legislation and this bill will ensure that pension administration in the country improves,” he said in a statement.
Due to his willingness to serve his people and his proactive nature, he emerged the Secretary General of the formidable Lagos Caucus of members of House of Representatives on October 11. At the same meeting, Hon. Dolapo Badru, became the Caucus leader.
On October 30, Hon. Kuye and other members of the Air Force Committee paid a condolence visit to Sokoto State Government regarding the unfortunate incidence that occurred between Air Force personnel and some civilian where lives were lost.
The next month, he presented a motion to amend the Pension Reform Act 2004, criminalizing diversion of pension fund by state governments and prescribes a jail term of 15 years for officials found culpable.
Still in November 6, Hon. Kuye presented a ground breaking and lives touching motion on the need to stop Higher Institutions from organising and charging students/parents for Post JAMB/UTME exams. This caught the attention of many Nigerians as virtually every family would be financially relieved if successful.
He then represented President, Muhammadu Buhari to decorate Rear Admiral Yakubu Wambai at the adornment of newly promoted Naval Officers of the Nigerian Navy at the Naval Headquarters, Abuja towards the end of November. Before the yuletide, Hon. Kuye presented a motion on the need to immediately investigate the incessant non-combat crashes of the Nigerian Air Force planes.
The new year came with even more focus for the Somolu lawmaker. On February 22, he was named Chairman Sub-Committee on Police Reform to reposition the Nigerian Police for an enhanced service delivery. Almost one month later, Hon. Kuye presented a bill calling for the compulsory registration of birth and death by amending Section 17 of the Principal Act placing responsibility of the mandatory registration in the hands of local government or area councils.
He said compulsory registration will “lead to accurate statistics for planning, making informed economic decisions, provision of required facilities and empowerment where necessary.
“Mandatory registration of birth will ensure that government monitors every child birth from the cradle through school and employment to the grave.”
According to him, if the amendment being sought is passed to law, every local government will have a data bank and information from the local government will go to the state data bank while federal government data bank will contain information from across the states.
Kuye subsequently chaired Ad-Hoc Committee to investigate the FG’s Abandoned Properties and Assets. Delivering his speech at the inauguration, Hon Kuye informed the general public that the committee won't succumb to any form of intimidation, noting that the committee will perform and surpass the expectations of the house.
In addition to the bills and motions already presented at the National Assembly, Hon. Kuye also raised of Points of Order aplenty. Not only has he provided immense representation for the Somolu people, he has already broken that age-long notion that comes with debutants.
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