Saturday, September 23THE LEGISLATURE

National Assembly to Postpone Resumption to October

Members of the National Assembly have called on the leadership of both chambers, Senate and House of Representatives to extend their resumption from September 25 to the second week of October.

A cross section of the federal lawmakers from both the Senate and House of Representatives, who spoke on the issue, explained that the September 25 earlier fixed, was no longer feasible.

They argued that it would not be possible for the joint committees on electoral matters and those on appropriation to conclude their assignments before the end of September.

They also said it would not make sense for members of the two chambers to abandon the primaries of their parties in their various constituencies to resume plenary.

The Vice-Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Rules and Business, Dr. Bode Ayorinde, said the date of the resumption was not yet in view because the joint committee on INEC had yet to finish their assignment.

Ayorinde stated, “If there are differences in their decision, the principal officers of the two houses would sit and harmonise the differences and take it to plenary for approval.

“It is also not feasible that we would resume in September owing to the fact that primaries of the parties are scheduled to hold between now and the end of September.

“The dates of the primaries of the ruling party extend till the first week in October. Do you now expect someone, who is campaigning for his election, to now rush down to the National Assembly for plenary?

“So, the plenary to consider the reports of INEC may not come up until after the primaries.”

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