Senate gives reasons for low bills passage

The Senate said, on Thursday, that members in the last one year introduced about 477 bills with 25 of them passed into law.

It said these demonstrated its commitment to legislative activities.

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, stated this in a statement celebrating the first anniversary of the 10th Senate.

Bamidele said, “Since its inauguration on June 13, 2023, the 10th Senate has introduced 477 bills. Of these, 25 have been fully enacted into law, while others are at various stages of the legislative process.

“Despite the seemingly low percentage of fully passed bills —5.24 per cent — the Senate’s focus has also been on addressing other fundamental national priorities as mandated by the Constitution.

“In addition to legislative activities, the Senate has passed 115 resolutions of significant consequence to economic development and national stability.

“These resolutions stemmed from motions of national importance, sponsored by various senators after thorough consideration.”

The Senate Leader, however, said bills were not the only means to assess legislators.

He said, “Many people may measure our performance based on the number of bills that were fully passed into law.

“Different reasons account for the low number of fully enacted legislations. This can be ascribed mainly to other issues of highly fundamental national priority that occupied the attention of the Senate. Put differently, it is purely due to the imperatives of attending to other obligations as required by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.”

Bamidele said besides bills, the Senate also screened and confirmed 215 nominees for various political offices, including appointments to the Federal Executive Council, Central Bank of Nigeria, and leadership positions in the Armed Forces, Police, and other key agencies.

The Senate also noted that in the last 366 days, it had been strategically collaborating with key public institutions, “especially the executive arm, to defend our core interest as a federation; ensure macroeconomic stability; promote internal cohesion as well as foster unity among ethnic nationalities that constitute our dear nation,” Bamidele noted.