Senate President Godswill Akpabio (seated) in a discussion with Barau Jibrin, deputy senate president, and Opeyemi Bamidele (in blue), senate leader | File photo
The Senate has pushed back against claims that it routinely ignores bills passed by the house of representatives.
Speaking at Tuesday’s plenary, Opeyemi Bamidele, senate leader, said the red chamber remains committed to legislative reciprocity grounded in the public interest.
He described the narrative as misleading and said the senate had processed several bills from the House in recent weeks.
“I want to use this opportunity to respond to what was published in some newspapers about the senate not working on concurrent bills from the house of representatives,” Bamidele said.
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“Let me say, for the record, that we have been doing what we are supposed to do and that only last week, this senate concurred to six bills from the house of representatives.”
Bamidele added that while both chambers uphold the principle of reciprocity, the senate would not automatically approve any bill that fails to serve the national interest.
“Yes, while we have the principle of chamber reciprocity, Mr president, the principle does not necessarily mean for us garbage in, garbage out,” he said.
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“We will continue to consider concurrent bills sent from the house of representatives, the same way they also consider our own. We want to ensure that every bill is given attention in the overriding public interest.”
Senate President Godswill Akpabio backed Bamidele’s position and cited recent examples to reinforce the upper chamber’s commitment to legislative diligence and cooperation.
“Last week, we attended to about six of those bills, and this week, I don’t know how many. But at least I know we are going to do two today,” he said.
“So please, let our brothers in the house of representatives know that we cannot joke with anything that comes from there. It takes two hands to clap, and we continue to work together.”
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The intervention followed remarks by some members of the house of representatives last week, who accused the senate of routinely discarding legislation passed by the lower chamber.
Tensions rose after the house delayed consideration of a senate bill seeking to establish a Federal Orthopaedic Hospital in Obokun, Osun State.
The bill, which had been listed for second reading on July 2, was stood down amid complaints by lawmakers that the senate often fails to reciprocate legislative efforts.
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