Yesterday the strangest thing happened when the Nigerian Senate passed a record 46 bills into law in just 10 minutes.
The bills were introduced by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang and all 46 of them had been recently passed by the lower House of Representatives.
The Senate’s decision to pass the bills was predicated on the fact that the life of the current assembly is expected to expire in a 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.
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.”
Not everyone accepted the fast track.
Some senators led by Senator Domingo Obende, Edo State, and George Sekibo, Rivers State, opposed the passage of the bills in less than ten minutes.
The Senate President asked them to write their names and signature when the house became too rowdy and efforts to calm them failed.
Here are the 46 bills passed by the senate:
1. Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Establishment etc) Act (Amendment), 2015;
2. Office of the Nigerian Financial Ombudsman Bill;
3. Institute of Chartered Trustees of Nigeria Bill;
4. National Convicts and Criminal Records (Registry) Bill, 2015;
5. Community Service Bill;
6. People’s Bank of Nigeria Act (Repeal) Bill
7. Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry Act (Repeal).
8. National Commission for Rehabilitation Act (Repeal) Bill;
9. Maintenance Orders Act (Repeal) Bill, 2015;
10. Federal Saving Bank Act (Repeal) Bill 2015;
11. Loan (State Development) Act (Repeal), 2015;
12. Nigerians in Diaspora (Establishment) Commission, 2015;
13. Electronic Transactions Bill, 2015;
14. Chartered Institute of Statiscians of Nigeria, 2015
15. Nigerian Metallurgical Industry Bill, 2014,
16. Federal Audit Commission Bill, 2015,
17. National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation Act (Amendment,) Bill,
18. Nigerian International Financial Centre (Establishment, etc) Bill,
19. Investment and Securities (Amendment) Bill
20. Nigerian Communications Satellite, Bill,
21. Federal Capital Territory Education Resources Centre (Establishment) Bill;
22. Labour Institutions (Establishment);
23. Witness Protection Programme Bill;
24. Institute of Mediators and Conciliators Bill;
25. Legal Education Act (Establishment) Bill;
26. National Health Insurance Commission Bill;
27. National Economic Intelligence Committee (Establishment) Act (Repeal) Bill.
28.Federal College Dental Technology and Therapy Bill,
29. Federal Capital Territory College of Nursing and Midwifery Bill,
30. Oaths Act (Amendment) Bill,
31. Federal Capital Territory Hospital Management Board (Establishment) Bill,
32. Passport (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Bill,
33. Chartered Institute of Management Accounts of Nigeria
34. Federal Capital Territory Water Board (Establishment) Bill,
35. Institute of Local Government and Public Administration Bill,
36. Whistle-blower Protection Bill,
37. Family Economic Advancement Programme (Establishment, etc) 2015,
38. Family Support Trust Fund Act (Repeal) Bill,
39. Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (Guarantee) Act (Repeal) Bill,
40. Treasury Management Bill 2015;
41. Legislative Powers and Privileges Act (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill,
42. Anti-Torture Bill, 2015;
43. Lobbyist (Registration and Regulation) Bill,
44. National Hospital for Women and Children, Abuja (Establishment, etc) Act (Amendment) Bill,
45. Nigerian Prisons Act CAP, P29 LFN 2004 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2015 and
46. Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill 2015.
