ABUJA THE Senate was thrown into rowdy session, yesterday, following the passage of 46 bills
into law less than 10 minutes they were introduced by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang. The 46 bills had recently been passed by the House of Representatives and transmitted to the Senate for concurrence. Before the passage, the Senate had said the life of the 7th Assembly would expire in few days time and that enough resources had already been expended in processing the bills, hence there was the need to pass them and forward same to the President for his assent. Consequently, the Red Chamber invoked Order 1 (b) of the Senate Standing Order 2011 as amended to adopt a special procedure on the bills for concurrence. Besides, the Senate suspended Order 79 (1) of the Senate Standing Orders and deemed that all the bills as having passed first, second and third readings on the floor of the Senate and concurred same as well as reproduced and circulated them to Senators. According to Enang, the bills by this resolution are hereby read and deemed read a third time and passed, to be transmitted to the President for assent
in accordance with the Acts (Authentication) Act, and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. That the votes and proceedings containing all bills be produced for adoption, as passed by the House. Uproar in the chamber But immediately after the Senate President put the bills to voice vote where the ayes had their way, there was uproar in the chamber as some senators, especially Senator Domingo Obende, Edo State, and George Sekibo, Rivers State, opposed the passage of the bills in less than ten minutes. Senator Marks efforts to calm down frayed nerves could not yield any positive results and he then told the aggrieved Senators, who did not agree with the passage of the bills, to write their names and signatures so that it would be looked at again today. 46 bills passed The 46 bills are: Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Establishment etc) Act (Amendment), 2015; Office of the Nigerian Financial Ombudsman Bill; Institute of Chartered Trustees of Nigeria Bill; National Convicts and Criminal Records (Registry) Bill, 2015; Community Service Bill; Peoples Bank of Nigeria Act (Repeal) Bill and Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry Act (Repeal). Others are National Commission for Rehabilitation Act (Repeal) Bill; Maintenance Orders Act (Repeal) Bill, 2015; Federal Saving Bank Act (Repeal) Bill 2015; Loan (State Development) Act (Repeal), 2015; Nigerians in Diaspora (Establishment) Commission, 2015; Electronic Transactions Bill, 2015; and Chartered Institute of Statiscians of Nigeria, 2015. Also passed are the Nigerian Metallurgical Industry Bill, 2014, Federal Audit Commission Bill, 2015, National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation Act (Amendment,) Bill, Nigerian International Financial Centre (Establishment, etc) Bill, Investment and Securities (Amendment) Bill and Nigerian Communications Satellite, Bill, Federal Capital Territory Education Resources Centre (Establishment) Bill; Labour Institutions (Establishment); Witness Protection Programme Bill; Institute of Mediators and Conciliators Bill; Legal Education Act (Establishment) Bill; National Health Insurance Commission Bill; National Economic Intelligence Committee (Establishment) Act (Repeal) Bill. The rest include Federal College Dental Technology and Therapy Bill, Federal Capital Territory College of Nursing and Midwifery Bill, Oaths Act (Amendment) Bill, Federal Capital Territory Hospital Management Board (Establishment) Bill, Passport (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Bill, Chartered Institute of Management Accounts of Nigeria. Also passed are Federal Capital Territory Water Board (Establishment) Bill, Institute of Local Government and Public Administration Bill, Whistle- blower Protection Bill, Family Economic Advancement Programme (Establishment, etc) 2015, Family Support Trust Fund Act (Repeal) Bill, Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (Guarantee) Act (Repeal) Bill, Treasury Management Bill 2015; Legislative Powers and Privileges Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill, Anti-Torture Bill, 2015; Lobbyist (Registration and Regulation) Bill, National Hospital for Women and Children, Abuja (Establishment, etc) Act (Amendment) Bill, Nigerian Prisons Act CAP, P29
LFN 2004 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2015 and Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill 2015. In an interview with Vanguard, Senator Enang said: We decided to bring this now because we do not have any more time to do the legislative duties to take and conclude it. It has been passed, it was thoroughly examined by the House of Representatives. Those ones that we have passed which some people may say we did not thoroughly examine, the House has passed them believing that we thoroughly examined them. I chair the Rules and Business Committee, I have examined all these bills, I circulated all the copies to all the Senators. On why the bills were coming together when the life span of the 7th Senate expires in two days, Senator Enang said: It is coming now because it is only today that we have, and if we do not, all the Bills would have become rubbish. These bills will be transmitted to the President for assent. He said with the passage of bills, the total number of bills passed by the Senate had increased to over 100.
