Reps halt consideration of Senate bills in protest over delay of 146 House-passed proposals
Reps halt consideration of Senate bills in protest over delay of 146 House-passed proposals
The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to suspend consideration of all bills transmitted from the Senate, citing the Upper Chamber’s prolonged inaction on over 140 House-initiated bills still awaiting concurrence.
Lawmakers expressed frustration during a heated debate over the Senate’s consistent delays, leading to the stepping down of two bills sponsored by Senate Leader, Senator Bamidele Opeyemi.
The resolution was prompted by a motion raised by Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda, in response to a Senate bill aimed at amending the Federal Orthopaedic Hospital Management Act to establish a Federal Orthopaedic Hospital in Obokun, Osun State.
During the same plenary, House Leader Julius Ihonvbere also moved to step down another Senate-originated bill seeking to establish the Federal University of Medicine and Medical Sciences in Egbe, Kogi State, which had been scheduled for consideration at the Committee of the Whole.
Tensions rose when Kingsley Chinda, representing Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency of Rivers State, was given the floor to second a motion for the second reading of a Senate bill.
Chinda expressed frustration over the Senate’s lack of reciprocity in handling bills sent from the House, stating, “I reluctantly support the motion for second reading. We don’t receive the same level of cooperation from the Senate. Mr. Speaker, that said, I will reluctantly second the motion.”
Backing Chinda’s stance, fellow Rivers lawmaker Awaji-Inombek Abiante added, “Mr. Speaker, to reinforce the Minority Leader’s point, I have two bills that have been sitting in the Senate since early 2024, and they’ve yet to be scheduled for concurrence.”
The same thing happened to my bills in the 9th Assembly, where throughout that Assembly, the Senate did not consider the bills that were passed from the House, emanating from me, sponsored by me. I do not know how we will continue with this kind of relationship, Mr Speaker.
“Well, let it not look as if we are slowing down the progress of governance in this country. I would support for today that we should step down the consideration of this bill. We should step it down.
“And probably you will find out from them what the problems and the challenges have been and why they do not consider bills coming from the House of Representatives. If the reasons are not cogent enough, we should reciprocate. This is my submission.”
His Borno counterpart, Ahmed Jaha, expressed displeasure over the undue reluctance of the Senate to legislation transmitted by the House over the years.
“I still stand by my position that, in most cases, the Senate fails to consider bills transmitted from the House for concurrence. I honestly don’t know where the problem lies,” Rep. Jaha stated.
He proposed that the House Committee on Rules and Business should engage directly with its Senate counterpart to establish a formal agreement. “They’ve done this several times in the past. It should be clearly stated: if they ignore our bills, we will do the same to theirs in the next session,” he added.
Jaha emphasized a need for reciprocity, saying, “Let it be tit for tat, because the House of Representatives is an institution that should not be undermined by the Senate—and vice versa. That’s my position.”
