Senate amends rules, prohibits first timers from becoming president, deputy

The Senate amended its standing rules on Tuesday to exclude first-time senators from running for the offices of President of the Senate and Deputy President of the Senate.

The amendment was passed in plenary after the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, moved a resolution to amend standing rules to accommodate new standing committees.

The proposal, which was seconded by Sen. Simon Mwadkwon, gained overwhelming support from all senators of all party stripes when the President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, called for a voice vote.

During the session, the upper chamber also passed nine other amendments targeted at accommodating new standing committees.

The red chamber also established the Committee on Atomic and Nuclear Energy, as stated in its motion, to monitor the Nigeria Nuclear Energy Regulatory Commission, the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, and their annual budget estimates.

The Senate also divided the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Committee into two separate standing committees, the Committee on FCT and the Committee on FCT Area Councils.

The upper chamber decided that the FCT Committee would be in charge of things about the FCT, such as planning and development of the new Federal Capital Territory, development inside the Federal Capital Territory, and its yearly budget.

The upper chamber also agreed that the Committee on FCT Area Councils would be in charge of the Area Council Mandate, the Area Council Service Commission, the Area Council Staff Pension Board, the Auditor-General for the Area Council, and any other FCT body or department.

The Senate similarly divided the Committee on Sports into two standing committees, now known as the Committee on Sports Development and the Committee on Youth and Community Engagement.

The Committee on Sports Development’s jurisdiction, according to the red chamber, shall include the Federal Ministry of Sport Development, the National Lottery Commission, the National Institute for Sports, the Nigeria Football Federation, Sports Arena Development, and national and international sporting organizations.

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