Senate passes re-drafted PIGB, Electoral Act, five others bills
Tunde Opalana, Abuja
In its determination to reform the nation’s political process, as well as the operations of the petroleum industry, the Senate on Wednesday passed a re-drafted version of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill, 2019, the Petroleum Industry Governance) Bill, 2019, and five other Bills to which President Muhammadu Buhari earlier declined assent.
Other redrafted Bills passed are: The National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Bill, 2019; the National Research and Innovation Council Bill, 2019; the Stamp Duties Act (Amendment) Bill, 2019; the National Agricultural Seed Council Bill, 2019; and the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
It should be noted that following the President’s refusal to assent to the afore-listed Bills, the Senate set-up a 7-member technical committee headed by Senator David Umaru, chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Legal Matters, to look into the Constitutional and legal implications of withholding of assent to the Bills by the President and to make appropriate recommendations on the way forward.
The Committee reviewed 6 constitutional amendment Bills and 11 private member Bills.
In its 34-page report, the Committee recommended that the Senate should re-consider and pass again 11 Bills, including the five Constitutional Amendment Bills; it should override the President’s veto on a Constitutional Amendment Bill, and the Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) Amendment Bill, 2018; and that the Senate should entirely withdraw four other Bills.
At its unusually extended plenary on Wednesay, the Senate, voting on a Motion moved by the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, in which he noted that the technical committee worked on President Buhari’s observations and re-drafted the affected clauses, thereby addressing the rationale for withholding of the presidential assent.
The Senate, then unanimously, passed the seven re-drafted Bills at the Committee of the whole, chaired by the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki.
