● House considers 46 new state creation requests, 117 for LGAs in constitution review
● Speakers seek governors’ support for fiscal federalism, state police

A brewing crisis is threatening to paralyse Nigeria’s legislative process as the House of Representatives has suspended consideration of all Senate-sponsored bills, citing prolonged delays in the Red Chamber’s concurrence to over 140 bills passed by the lower chamber.

The move, fuelled by accusations of Senate neglect, underlines a rift that could erode inter-chamber cooperation and stall the passage of critical legislation.

“This imbalance is unacceptable. We will no longer consider their bills unless we get a firm commitment that ours will be treated with the same urgency,” declared Speaker Tajudeen Abass.

The lawmakers, led by Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda, raised concerns that the Senate had failed to act on critical bills transmitted by the lower chamber, with some pending for more than six months.

This followed a motion moved by House Leader Julius Ihonvbere to consider a Senate bill on establishing an orthopaedic hospital in Osun State. The bill was titled “Bill for an Act to Amend the Federal Orthopaedic Hospital Management Act, to Establish Federal Orthopaedic Hospital, Obokun, Osun State and for Related Matters (SB. 169)”.

Under Section 58(1)–(3) of the 1999 Constitution, a bill must be passed by both chambers of the National Assembly before it can be presented to the President for assent.

Specifically, Section 58(3) states that once a bill is passed by the chamber where it originated, it must be sent to the other chamber for concurrence, and both chambers must agree on any amendments before it can move to the President.

However, tension rose in the Green Chamber when Speaker Abass called on the Minority Leader to second the motion moved by the House Leader. Chinda accused the Senate of having a habit of neglecting bills transmitted by the House of Representatives.

“But we don’t get that same treatment at the Senate. Mr Speaker, having said so, I will reluctantly second the motion for the second reading of this bill, sir, I so second,” he said.

Chinda’s position received widespread support from his colleagues.
In his contribution, Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno) said that in most cases, the Senate has consistently refused to consider bills from the House. He called on the Rules and Business Committee of the House to liaise with its Senate counterpart to determine the reason.

He said stepping down the consideration of the Senate bill—and subsequent bills from the upper chamber—would send a signal that House bills should also be given accelerated consideration, just as the House is doing.

Jaha said: “But my suggestion is that the Rules and Business Committee of the House should liaise with the Rules and Business Committee of the Senate and sign a deal. They have done that several times in the past. So it is better we make it clear that, if they do not do their own, at the next meeting, we are not going to do theirs.

“Let there be tit for tat. Yes, let there be tit for tat, because the House of Representatives is an institution that cannot be compromised by the Senate, and vice versa. So this is my position.”

Contributing, Dogomie Abiante (PDP, Rivers) lamented that since early 2024, two of his bills passed by the House have remained unattended to in the Senate and have never been listed for consideration.

He said this is even as the House continues to list and consider bills originating from the Senate. The lawmaker said: “Mr Speaker, just to support what the Minority Leader has said, I have two bills that have been in the Senate since early 2024, and Mr Speaker, up till now, they have not been listed for concurrence.

“The same thing happened to my bills in the 9th Assembly, where, throughout that Assembly, the Senate did not consider the bills that were passed by the House, emanating from me, sponsored by me. I do not know how we will continue with this kind of relationship, Mr Speaker.

“Well, let it not look as if we are slowing down the progress of governance in this country. I would support today that we should step down the consideration of this bill. We should step it down.

“And probably, you will find out from them what the problems and the challenges have been. Why do they not consider bills coming from the House of Representatives? And if the reasons are not cogent enough, we should reciprocate. We should reciprocate. My submission!”

On his part, Chairman, House Committee on National Security and Intelligence, Ahmed Satomi, said: “I rise to also lend my voice that we should, even now, step down all their bills pending a proper resolution.

“If a bill is commissioned, and so also to work, if possible, with our standing orders, then we should be guided by a certain time and period within which they must act on the concurrence. If not, we assume that it has been accepted and passed. Maybe, if that is possible.”

While trying to calm nerves, the Speaker, who had called for calm, also affirmed the Senate’s non-reciprocity towards the Representatives’ bills.
He said: “Honourable colleagues, I think what you are saying is very worrisome. According to the Clerk, we have 146 bills pending with the Senate. Personally, I have more than 10 bills. Some have been there for more than six months. No attention.

“Well, my only appeal, Honourable Chair, since the Majority and Minority Leaders have already taken a position, it would be disrespectful for us to step it down. But let us just have a common ground on this issue that, henceforth, unless we receive reasonable assurance from the Senate concerning the concurrence of our bills, we should not proceed further.”

The lawmakers, however, unanimously resisted, prompting Abass to rule in favour of stepping it down.
The House of Representatives Committee, reviewing the 1999 Constitution, is considering approximately 46 requests for the creation of new states and 117 requests for new local government areas across the 36 states of the federation.

The committee is also considering two requests for boundary adjustments, as well as about 86 Constitution amendment bills passed by the House. The North-Central is leading the pack in requests for new states with 12, followed by the South-West with eight. The North-West and South-South have seven requests each, while the North-East and South-East have six requests each.

The North-East has 22 requests for the creation of new local governments, the North-West has 14 requests, the North-Central has 21 requests, the South-East has 24 requests, the South-West has 12 requests, while the South-South has 24 requests.

Chairman of the House Committee on Constitution Review and Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu, stated that he categorised all the memoranda and bills received by the committee into different categories to facilitate the public’s contributions to the process.

He listed the areas of attention as electoral reforms, judicial reforms, the legislature, inclusive governance, security and policing, devolution of powers, strengthening of institutions, traditional institutions, fiscal reforms, citizenship and indigeneship, fundamental human rights, local government reform, as well as the creation of states and local governments.

Kalu asked Nigerians to participate fully in the process of reviewing the 1999 Constitution to bring it to their expectations, saying those who refuse to participate in the exercise should not complain later.

He said that the continuous review of the Constitution is necessary as the nation’s democracy advances, as it will enhance the country’s development, since there are always areas for improvement in the nation’s legal document.

He stated that the House Committee is committed to ensuring broader participation by Nigerians and other key stakeholders in amending the Constitution. To achieve this, the committee has divided the country into 12 zones for adequate coverage during the public hearing, which will be held in two phases.

The first phase, scheduled to take place between July 11 and 13, will occur in Kaduna and Sokoto for the North-West, Minna and Lafia for the North-Central, as well as Gombe and Borno for the North-East.

The second phase, scheduled for July 18 to 20, will take place in Lagos and Akure for the South-West, Yenagoa and Calabar for the South-South, as well as Enugu and Owerri for the South-East. The national public hearing will be held on Monday, July 21, 2025, in Abuja.

Kalu said these “hearings are designed to provide an open platform for citizens, civil society organisations, professional bodies, traditional institutions, and other interest groups to express their views and contribute meaningfully to the constitutional reform process.”

He said further that “86 Constitution Review Bills currently under consideration in the House will be presented to the general public in the form of a compressed compendium consisting of a collation of explanatory memoranda, long titles, and a comprehensive exposé of the bills for their inputs.”

“The bills, sponsored by members of the House, represent legislative efforts aimed at addressing various developmental challenges affecting governance practices in Nigeria.”

He said the bills have been summarised in a compendium as reference material for all stakeholders and members of the public during the zonal public hearings, thereby enabling them to understand the legislative proposals.

Speakers seek governors’ support for fiscal federalism, state police
Speakers of the 36 State Houses of Assembly in Nigeria have called on state governors to support efforts aimed at achieving fiscal federalism and the establishment of state police.

To this end, the Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, Adebo Ogundoyin, paid a courtesy visit to the Governor of Kwara State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, in Ilorin. The meeting focused on enhancing institutional synergy between the legislative and executive arms at the sub-national level. Ogundoyin briefed the NGF chairman on wide-ranging reforms introduced under his leadership of the Conference of Speakers.

“We are committed to repositioning State Houses of Assembly to be more impactful, autonomous, and responsive to the needs of our people. We believe that collaborating with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum is critical to achieving these objectives,” he said.

He also presented reform initiatives aimed at promoting legislative autonomy, capacity building, public accountability, and inter-governmental cooperation across the country.

Ogundoyin appealed for the NGF’s support in implementing the reforms nationwide, describing the forum as “a key ally in driving institutional change”.

“We are not working in isolation. For meaningful change to happen, we need our governors. Their partnership is crucial, and pivotal,” he added. On the ongoing constitutional amendment process, Ogundoyin stressed the need for alignment between the NGF and the Conference of Speakers to ensure the success of key constitutional changes that reflect present realities and strengthen Nigeria’s federal system.

“We look forward to a united front on constitutional reform. This is a historic opportunity to reshape governance for the better, and collaboration between our two bodies is essential. We need the Governors’ Forum to support key legislative proposals such as devolution of power, fiscal federalism and state policing,” he said.

In his response, Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq commended Ogundoyin for his proactive leadership and reaffirmed the NGF’s commitment to strengthening democratic institutions nationwide.