• To give priority to PIB, bill renaming UNILAG after Abiola
AN attempt by the House of Representatives to amend the act guiding the state of emergency declared in the three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe is yet to be formally brought to the attention of the Senate.
The Senate, which disclosed this on Monday, also stated that it would accord priority to the consideration of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in its third legislative session towards the end of this month.
Addressing a press conference on the legislative schedules of the Senate at the National Assembly on Monday, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Solomon Ita Enang, explained that for the amendment proposed by the House of Representatives to be valid, it required concurrence by the Senate.
He said such a proposal to amend the Emergency Rule Act had not got to the Senate.
The House of Representatives had last month resolved to revoke the powers earlier granted President Goodluck Jonathan to utilise the statutory allocations of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states where emergency rule was declared on May 14.
The House said it took the decision to review the President’s powers over funds of states under emergency rule because it had discovered that it would be unconstitutional to do otherwise.
Section 3(e) of the Emergency Powers (General) Regulations 2013 empowered the President to utilise the funds of any state or local council in the area where a state of emergency exists.
He said: “The Senate and the House passed resolutions on the state of emergency and approved the request of Mr. President as contained in the proclamation of state of emergency. There were differences between what the House passed and what the Senate passed. Both houses set up committees and the conference committee arrived at a harmonised position. This harmonised position was adopted by the House as a result of the conference committee and adopted by the Senate as a result of its own conference committee. Now, that is as much as I know.
“Yes, I am informed that there were considerations by the House of some aspects of it. I am not yet aware of a communication of that to the Senate. That is, it has not yet come to the floor of the Senate. Therefore, the position that exists now is as agreed and communicated and when we receive and it is communicated, we will consider what the other chamber considered. The laws bind that what is deemed to come from the National Assembly is what is accepted by both chambers.”
Enang also disclosed that the PIB was among the issues that would take greater attention of the Senate when it resumes from its end of session recess.
The Senate had debated the PIB, passed it for second reading and equally referred it to an ad-hoc committee for further processing.
Also, the bill to amend the University of Lagos Act to rename the university after the late Chief Moshood Abiola has been listed among the bills to get serious attention of the Senate in the new session.
Enang said the Senate was yet to get any communication from the President that the university was no longer going to be renamed.
The bill specifically sought the renaming of the university after the late Abiola.
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