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Tag: Plenary

  • Rivers Assembly passes 3 bills, adjourns plenary indefinitely

    Rivers Assembly passes 3 bills, adjourns plenary indefinitely

    The Rivers State House of Assembly on Friday passed three bills into law before immediately proceeding on an indefinite recess.

    The bills include the Rivers State House of Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Bill, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) Bill, and the Rivers State Local Government Bill, 2025.

    Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, announced the passage of the bills during a plenary session in Port Harcourt on Friday.

    NAN learnt that the Powers and Privileges Bills seeks to grant the state lawmakers the authority, privilege and immunity necessary to carry out their legislative duties.

    The RSIEC Bill aims to repeal the RSIEC Bill Law No. 2 of 2018, thereby redefining the establishment, composition, and functions of the commission.

    The Rivers State Local Government Bill 2025 seeks to repeal the existing Local Government Laws of 2018, 2023, and 2024.

    The Deputy Leader of House, Mrs Lynda Somiari-Stewart, concluded the debate on the three committee reports before their final passage, having scaled the third reading.

    Following the passage of the bills, Amaewhule adjourned plenary indefinitely, effectively preventing Fubara from presenting the 2025 Appropriation Bill.

    The governor had earlier written to the House on Thursday, requesting to present the state budget on March 19, following two previous failed attempts to meet with the lawmakers.

    It remains uncertain whether the indefinite plenary adjournment is a deliberate attempt to further delay the budget presentation, despite the directive by the Supreme Court.

  • Three months after suspension, Senator Ningi resumes plenary at the Upper Chamber

    Three months after suspension, Senator Ningi resumes plenary at the Upper Chamber

    Senator representing Bauchi Central at the Upper Chamber, Abdul Ningi  has resumed his legislative duties three months after going on suspension.

    Recall that the lawmaker was suspended in March 2023 over his allegation of budget padding.

    Senator Ningi ran into trouble after saying that the Federal Government was operating two versions of the 2024 budget.

    The lawmaker also claimed that the N28.7trn Budget passed by the National Assembly and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu was skewed against the North.

    He was however, handed a three-month suspension from participating in plenary.

    On May 28 after the Deputy Minority Leader Senator Abba Moro initiated the process, expressing regret on his behalf.

    On Tuesday, Ningi, a People’s Democratic Party, PDP senator, was sighted at the National Assembly premises in Abuja while driving his black Toyota Landcruiser Jeep.

    Approaching the NASS gate, he stopped briefly to exchange pleasantries with journalists on the ground to welcome him back.

    “Press members, thank you very much,” the excited lawmaker told them. “I got all your messages.”

    When asked if he enjoyed his leave, the senator replied, “Very much.”

  • 10th Senate Magazine Debuts in Plenary

    10th Senate Magazine Debuts in Plenary

     

    The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio on Wednesday in plenary presented the 10th Senate Magazine, a quarterly publication of the Senate, with a mandate to bridge the gap in information between the government and its citizens.

    Senator Akpabio said the magazine will enable Senators to tell their stories, air their views and also report on the activities of the Senate and the services of the lawmakers to the nation.

    Chairman Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs and Editor-in-Chief of the Magazine, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu while introducing the magazine said it would mark the birth of a new era of communication between the Senate and the citizens.

    According to Senator Adaramodu, “If you don’t tell your story, your story will be told by somebody else and the story can be skewed and we know that the National Assembly, nay the Senate, is already being driven to a frozen metaphor for ludicrous tales whereby the narratives out there negates what the Senate stands for.

    “For the first time in the annals of our great nation, we have the 10th Senate Magazine as a platform to bridge the gap between the Senate and the people, and is deliberately intended to foster transparency, understanding and engagement.

    “The 10th Senate Magazine is the beginning of progress and the embodiment of the commitment of the Senate to open dialogue and effective communication with the Nigerian people at home and in the diaspora. In its pages, you will find a tapestry of stories, insights that reflects the rich chronicle of our nation,” he said.

    Senator Seriake Dickson commended the presentation of the magazine and described it as uncommon. He said Senators will feature in subsequent editions of the magazine and urged members of the public to avail themselves and be enlightened about developments in the Senate.

    On the invitation of the Senate President, Senator Adaramodu laid the magazine before the Senate.

  • Senate adjourns plenary until May 7

    Senate adjourns plenary until May 7

    The Senate has adjourned plenary until May 7 to allow for further refurbishment of its chamber.

    The Senate had resumed on Tuesday, after the Easter and Sallah breaks in the chamber, but was faced with some minor operational challenges, especially poor audio quality in the chamber.

    Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau who presided over the session said the Senate would adjourn until Tuesday, to allow for finishing touches on the chamber to rectify the problem.

  • House of Reps to resume plenary on Tuesday

    House of Reps to resume plenary on Tuesday

    The House of Representatives has said it will resume from its annual recess on Tuesday to continue the first legislative year of the 10th Assembly.

    Dr Yahaha Danzaria, the Clerk of the house, said this in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.

    The 10th Assembly proceeded on its annual recess on July 27.

    This followed a plenary session during which Speaker Tajudeen Abbas announced the leadership of the standing committees of the house.

    Commenting on the resumption, Rep. Akin Rotimi, the Spokesperson of the house and House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, said the 10th Assembly had been prolific.

    He said since its inauguration, the house had recorded 470 bills, with all passing first reading, while four passed second reading.

    He added that there had been 175 motions considered by the parliament.

    He said in spite of the recess, it had continued to function, as various ad hoc committees continued to carry out their crucial mandates.

    He said this had generated significant positive public interest.

    Rotimi said some of the key early developments expected on resumption was the conclusion of the work of all ad hoc committees and the submission of their reports.

    He said this was for the consideration of the House in line with the directive of the speaker.

    He said the house would get the final draft of its Legislative Agenda developed by the ad hoc committee, led by the Majority Leader, Rep. Julius Inhonvbere.

    He said it would be considered and adopted by the house, adding that the draft agenda was developed following extensive consultations with critical stakeholders.

    He also said that the membership of the standing committees would be announced and fully constituted.

  • Senate adjourns plenary until July 4

    Senate adjourns plenary until July 4

    The Senate on Wednesday, adjourned plenary until July 4.

    This followed the adoption of a motion by Deputy President of Senate, Sen. Barau Jubril.(APC-Kano) at Wednesday’s plenary.

    Senate earlier approved a motion informing President Bola Tinubu that a quorum of the 10th Senate had been assembled and that the Presiding Officers had been elected.

    It also adopted a motion to write letters of congratulatory messages to the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives on their election.

    The letters will also notify them of the election of the President and Deputy President of the Senate.

    It also at plenary adopted a motion to write to international parliamentary bodies informing them that a quorum of the 10th Senate had been assembled and that the Senate was ready to receive communication.

    The bodies included the African Union (AU), ECOWAS Parliament, Common Wealth Parliamentary Association (CWPA), Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) among others.

  • HOR: Gbajabiamila, deputy clash over time during plenary

    HOR: Gbajabiamila, deputy clash over time during plenary

    Femi Gbajabiamila, the speaker of the House  of Representatives, and his deputy, Idris Wase clashed over sitting of House on Wednesday.

    Gbajabiamila was angered by Wase’s confrontation challenging his order on the Green Chamber on Wednesday afternoon.

    Mr Gbajabiamila on Wednesday directed that the agenda on the Order Paper be few to allow him attend the commissioning of the National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies.

    He stated that Thursday’s session must not exceed 2 p.m. to allow him to attend the event.

    “Chairman Business and Rules, let’s make the order paper light for tomorrow because we have this — it is very important — the permanent site of the NILDS. It is at 2:30. So it will be good we close by 2pm,” he said.

    But his deputy challenged his decision, noting that the House cannot afford to be waiting time on commission while the business of the House is left undone.

    “We have lost quite a number of periods of time. For the commissioning of projects for God’s sake, why do we have to shelve a lot of activities that we have just to go and witness the commissioning of a project of NILDS? I want to beg sir that we should do our functions,” he said.

    Mr Gbajabiamila was left fuming as he noted that no deputy speaker has ever challenged the speaker.

    “Mr deputy speaker, this is the first time in history. I have been in this house for many years, perhaps even longer than anybody here. This is the first time in history that a deputy speaker will challenge what the speaker is saying,” he said.

    This fight may not be unconnected with the speculation that Mr Wase is leading other aggrieved members to impeach Gbajabiamila.

    It would be recalled that Mr Gbajabiamila is backing Tajudeen Abbas for the speaker of the House

  • Nigerian Senate adjourns plenary till February 28

    Nigerian Senate adjourns plenary till February 28

    The Nigerian Senate has adjourned the plenary till February 28, 2023.

    The decision was to enable lawmakers to partake in electioneering campaigns ahead of the February 25th Presidential and National Assembly Elections.

    Recall that the Senate had earlier said that it would adjourn plenary to allow lawmakers to have time for campaigns for the forthcoming elections.

    Nigerian Senate adjourns plenary till February 28

    The senate resumed plenary after a three-week break after it adjourned the plenary on December 28, 2022.

    The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, had disclosed that during the plenary that after the week’s work, they’d suspend plenary for the sake of the elections.

    He noted that the break would enable lawmakers contesting for various offices during the general elections to carry out necessary campaigns in their various constituencies.

    Nigerian Senate adjourns plenary till February 28

    He, however, said the Senate might suspend activities this week if it can deal with urgent issues requiring its attention so it does not have to sit next week.

    Lawan said, “We are prepared to sit up to Friday this week to attend to all urgent issues requiring our attention, so we don’t have to sit next week in view of the forthcoming elections.”

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that the Senate is the upper chamber of Nigeria’s bicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Nigeria.

    The National Assembly (popularly referred to as NASS) is the nation’s highest legislature, whose power is to make laws, is summarized in chapter one, section four of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.

    It consists of 109 senators: the 36 states are each divided in 3 senatorial districts each electing one senator using the first-past-the-post electoral system; the Federal Capital Territory elects only one senator also using first-past-the-post.

    The President of the Senate is the presiding officer of the Senate, whose chief function is to guide and regulate the proceedings in the Senate.

    The Senate President is third in the Nigerian presidential line of succession. He is assisted by the Deputy President of the Senate.

    The current Senate President is Sen. Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan and the current Deputy Senate President is Ovie Omo-Agege, both members of the APC.

    The Senate President and his Deputy are also assisted by principal officers including the Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader, Chief Whip, Deputy Chief Whip, Minority Whip, and Deputy Minority Whip.

    In addition, there are 63 Standing Committees in the Senate chaired by Committee Chairmen.

  • Senate suspends plenary over death of Edo lawmaker

    Senate suspends plenary over death of Edo lawmaker

    The Senate on Tuesday suspended plenary over the recent death of a lawmaker representing Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Federal Constituency in Edo, Rep. Jude Ise-Idehen.

    Ise-Idehen, until his death, was a member of the House of Representatives on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The senate, on resumption from its two-week recess, adjourned plenary to July, 20 to honour the deceased, who died on July 1, at the age of 52.

    The motion for adjournment was moved by the Deputy Leader of the Senate, Sen. Ajayi Boroffice (APC-Ondo) and seconded by the Minority Leader, Sen. Philip Aduda (PDP-FCT).

    The senate, also observed a minute of silence to mourn the deceased before suspending the plenary.

    The plenary was presided by the Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege (APC – Delta Central).

  • Senate adjourns plenary over death of Akwa Ibom lawmaker

    Senate adjourns plenary over death of Akwa Ibom lawmaker

    The Senate has adjourned plenary to April 27, over the death of Hon. Ekpenyong Nse Bassey.

    Bassey, until his death, was a Member of House of Representatives, representing Oron Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State.

    Senate adjourned plenary upon resumption from a one-week recess to mark the Easter celebration.

    The sitting on Tuesday was presided over by the Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege ( APC Delta).

    The motion for adjournment was moved by the Deputy Leader, Sen. Ajayi Boroffice, (APC- Ondo), and seconded by the Minority Whip, Sen. Philip Aduda, (PDP- FCT).

    The lawmaker was reported to have died on Sunday in Uyo, at 4pm.

    The Senate, before adjourning held a minute silence to mourn the demise of the lawmaker.