Senate President says any bill which fails to pass in the Senate or House of Representatives during voting automatically stands rejected by the National Assembly
By Emma Ogbuehi
The Senate on Tuesday passed a total of 49 bills out of the 68 considered during voting on the Constitution Bills.
The bills were contained in the report of the Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.
A total of 19 alteration bills failed to make passage during the voting exercise which lasted almost five hours during plenary.
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, while setting the tone for voting on the bills, explained that only bills which enjoyed passage in both chambers would be transmitted to the State Houses of Assembly for concurrence.
According to him, any bill which fails to pass in the Senate or House of Representatives during voting automatically stands rejected by the National Assembly.
The bills that scaled the hurdle included those that sought to grant financial and administrative autonomy to local government areas in the country.
While 92 senators voted to pass financial autonomy for local governments, 88 voted to pass administrative autonomy of LGAs.
The Senate also approved financial autonomy for state legislatures and the judiciary.
The approval came on Tuesday during voting on the report of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution (Fifth Alteration) Bills, 2022.
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Meanwhile, the Senate has received the Nigeria Startup Bill transmitted to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The bill was accompanied with a letter dated February 21, 2022, and read during plenary by the Senate President.
Buhari in the letter explained that the Startup Bill seeks to position the country’s Startup Ecosystem and to establish a National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
The letter reads in part, “Pursuant to Sections 58(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), I hereby forward The Nigeria Startup Bill, 2021 for the kind consideration of the Senate.
“The Nigeria Startup Bill, 2021 aims to position Nigeria’s Startup ecosystem, as the leading digital technology center in Africa, having excellent innovators with cutting edge skills and exportable capacity, in order to do this, the Bill seeks to establish a National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
“While hoping that this submission will receive the usual expeditious consideration of the Senate, please accept, Distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my best regards.”