History was made on the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday when the lawmakers presented 130 bills for first reading in less than 30 minutes.
At first reading, the speaker only invites the House clerk to read the short title of any newly introduced bill, after which it will be listed for second reading, when it will be debated.
Soon after commencement of plenary, Speaker Yakubu Dogara called on the clerk Sani Omolori to read the bills, most of which sought to repeal or amend an existing law.
Some of the bills include Corporate Manslaughter Bill, 2015; Medical and Dental Practitioners Amendment Bill, 2015; Peoples Bank of Nigeria Act (repeal) bill, 2015; National Eye Centre Amendment Bill, 2015; Inland Fisheries Act Amendment Bill, 2015; Public Partnership Regulatory Commission Bill, 2015 and Casino Taxation Amendment Bill, 2015.
Others are Extradition Amendment Act, 2015; NIPSS Amendment Bill, 2015; Workers’ Compensation Amendment Bill, 2015; Telecommunications and Postal Offences Amendment Bill, 2015; Criminal Justice Amendment Bill, 2015; National Film and Video Censors’ Board Amendment Bill, 2015; Robbery and Firearms Amendment Bill, 2015; EFCC Amendment Bill, 2015 among many others.
After Omolori finished reading the 130 bills, Dogara then called on members to present more bills before the House for legislation.
Dogara said it has become expedient for lawmakers to take up the challenge of ensuring that the statute books are no longer subjected to wanton manipulations by the nation’s leaders.
He said: “This is the first set of the intervention bills to be presented and there are still more in my office.
“The intention is to review the statute books so that they are no longer whimsically thrown away at the whims and caprices of any leader.
“Today, we are fulfilling the promise we made to Nigerians and we are assuring them that they are going to be passed before the last quarter of next year.”
