The 8th Nigerian senate under the leadership of Sen. Bukola Saraki has undoubtedly recorded some successes in Nigeria as it plays its role which is to legislate for good governance, peace and welfare of the people while also serving as a check on the executive arm of government.
As this arm of government marks its two years in office, TheNewsGuru.com has compiled some of the timeless strides attained by the legislative body that Nigerians will find unforgettable.
1.
The 8th Senate initiated the first-ever National Assembly Joint Public Hearing on the budget. 3-day Public Hearing was to give the public, CSOs and stakeholders like labour organizations an opportunity to weigh-in on the 2017 appropriations bill.
2.
Senate investigation exposed abuse of import duty waivers on rice: the senate in a motion mandated its ad-hoc committee to investigate the removal of import waivers on rice.
3.
In 2015, the Senate President promised to pass comprehensive electoral reform laws before the election season starts. This promise was actualized in April 2017.
4.
Senate promised to release the budget of the National Assembly as part of #OpenNASS. Fulfilled this promise on the 11th of May, 2017.
To make the budget process more transparent, for the first time since 1999, the Senate laid the budget and its details on the floor of the plenary.
5.
The 8th senate intervention led to review of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN policy to enable small business owner’s access to Forex.
6.
Detection of the fraudulent activities involved in the implementation of TSA and resolutions to bring such act to a halt saving Nigeria N20 billion from the implementation of the TSA policy.
7.
Senate’s mandated Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC to immediately abolish fixed charges on electricity consumption, and bulk marketing of villages and communities.
8.
The Senate promised to intervene in the issue of the death of 3 Queens College students. The Senate President promised that the Senate would set up a Stakeholder Summit to look into comprehensive education reform in the country; ensure that additional funds were included for Queens College’s infrastructural challenges in the 2017 Appropriation Bill. The second part of this promise has been kept.
9.
The Nigerian Senate exposed how South African telecom giant, MTN, laundered billions of dollars ($12 billion) over a number of years from Nigeria and, failing to pay necessary tax in the country.
10.
In March 2016, the Senate allocated of N10bn to IDPs in the northeast in recognition of the dire situation.
Others
-Motion by the Nigerian Senate on International Women’s Day 2016 on Gender Equality: This motion decried the rate of marginalization of Women and sought fair treatment for women in Nigeria.
-The Senate has set up a Senate Committee on Legislative Compliance to hold Senators and Senate Committees accountable to their deadlines, mandates, etc.
-In September 2016, the Senate established an 8-man Ad Hoc Committee on North East charged with ascertaining the total amount of funds that have been released to the Presidential Initiative on the North East and probing spending by the Federal Government on the humanitarian crisis in the North-east. This Committee indicted the Secretary to the Government of the Federation for misappropriating funds upwards of N200million.
-Senate, in a motion mandated Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC to immediately abolish fixed charges on electricity consumption, and bulk marketing of villages and communities.
-The Senate constituted an Ad-Hoc Committee to investigate the fraud and anomalies uncovered by the 2013 audit report of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI. This report revealed that Nigeria lost over $9 billion in stolen, unremitted oil money in 2013.
-The Senate promised pharmaceutical manufacturers that it would intervene in the issue of additional tariffs charged on top of the CET for raw materials that are needed to produce drugs and vaccines. This promise was kept.
-The Senate President promised to set up a technical committee to produce a report on the enabling laws that are needed to make sure that our pharmaceutical industry can meet the demands of the entire country. This promise has been kept.
BILLS PASSED
BILLS PASSED BY EACH SENATE AT 2ND YEAR MARK
5TH SENATE: 65
6TH SENATE: 23
7TH SENATE: 28
8TH SENATE: 95
BILLS PASSED BY EACH SENATE AT 4TH YEAR MARK
5TH SENATE: 129
6TH SENATE: 72
7TH SENATE: 128
8TH SENATE: YET TO REACH THE MARK
PETITIONS CLEARED
PETITIONS CLEARED BY EACH SENATE AT 4TH YEAR MARK
5TH SENATE: UNKNOWN
6TH SENATE: 6
7TH SENATE: 6
PETITIONS CLEARED BY EACH SENATE AT 2ND YEAR MARK
8TH SENATE: 72 (CONCLUDED AS OF WEDNESDAY, MAY 31ST