Last week, Nigerian senators discussed issues ranging from security to their internal control mechanism. Here are some of them:
Kebbi abduction and demand for fresh recruitment of 100,000 soldiers
The senators expectedly discussed the abduction of the students of the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, which occurred in the early hours of Monday.
About 25 students of the school were kidnapped by terrorists, who also shot dead the vice principal of the school.
During Tuesday’s plenary, senators condemned the abduction and demanded urgent action from security agencies.
During the intense debate, the lawmakers also called for an investigation into the over $30 million spent on Nigeria’s Safe-School Programme, a federal security initiative launched in 2014 to protect schools from attacks.
They also urged President Bola Tinubu to approve the recruitment of 100,000 additional military personnel to curb the increasing challenges of school abductions across the country.
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The resolutions followed a motion by Abdullahi Yahaya, the senator for Kebbi North, who requested more effective solutions to Nigeria’s security challenges.
Before moving into a closed-door session on national security, the Senate observed a minute’s silence in honour of a slain official of the Kebbi school.
Proposed amendment to Senate Standing Orders
At Tuesday’s plenary, the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, moved a motion to amend the Standing Orders to bar first-time senators from contesting for Senate President or Deputy Senate President, and create new committees, including the Committee on Livestock Development and committees overseeing regional development commissions such as the North-Central, North-West, South-East, South-South, and South-West Development Commissions.
The Senate’s Standing Orders were last amended in 2023.
However, Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro objected, arguing that the amendment notice had not been circulated to all members of the Senate.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, agreed with the objection and suspended consideration of the proposed amendments.
The Senate resolved that when the amendment process resumes, it will sit as a Committee of the Whole to review the amendments.
Another senator dies
On Wednesday, the Senate adjourned plenary in honour of Okey Ezea, who represented Enugu North Senatorial District on the ticket of the Labour Party (LP).
The adjournment is in line with the parliamentary tradition.
Mr Ezea, 62, passed away on Tuesday after a brief illness. His son, Jideofor Ezea, confirmed his death in a statement issued on behalf of the family.
He died about 16 months after the Anambra South senator, Ifeanyi Ubah, passed away in London.
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