…rejects Bill seeking the establishment of Transport Council
The Senate has commenced moves to amend the constitution to allow for the establishment of the Local Government Independent Electoral Commission.
This is subsequent to the First Reading of the bill on the floor of the Senate on Thursday.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Sani Musa representing Niger East, seeks to establish an independent body to conduct elections at the local government level.
Recall that the Supreme Court last week delivered a judgement separating the accounts of local governments from the states’, thereby making them entirely independent.
On the other hand, the Senate rejected a Bill seeking the Establishment of National Road Transport Council.
The rejection followed the submission of some senators on a Bill sponsored by Senator Yisa Ashiru, titled “A Bill for an Act to establish National Road Transport Council to be saddled with the responsibility of regulating the road transport industry and the transport profession in Nigeria and for related matters, 2024 ( SB. 324)”.
In his lead debate, Senator Ashiru stressed the importance of the Bill and the need to oversee and regulate transport companies in the country.
Supporting the Bill, Senator Dicket Plang, Plateau Central, and Senator Osita Ngwu, Enugu West, stated the challenges faced as a result of improper regulations of the road.
They added that the Bill will help to protect the drivers and workers in the country and bring very reliable means of transportation.
On the contrary, Senator Victor Umeh, Anambra Central, and Senator Adams Oshomhole, Edo North, opposed the Bill on the ground that there are already many regulatory agencies for road transportation in the country.
They added that the most important thing is to make the existing institutions work to avoid multiplication of duplicated institutions.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, after a long deliberation, put it to a voice vote and the nays had it.
The Bill was read for the first time on the floor of the Senate on 30th January, 2024.
