Senate defends plans to amend Standing Rules

Posted on 12 May, 2011

Senate defends plans to amend Standing Rules

The Nigerian Senate says the amendment of its Standing Rules was a development aimed at strengthening the legislative institution to deepen democracy.

The Senate Spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze, who disclosed this to reporters in Abuja on Thursday, said that contrary to media reports, the action was not targeted at protecting an individual but an institution.
 
The standing rules

The Senate on Wednesday moved to amend Order 97, Rule 1F of its Standing Rules.

The rule states that “nomination of senators to serve as principal officers and chairmen of committees or any parliamentary delegation shall be in accordance with the ranking of senators in which previously elected senators into the senate are granted precedence.”

Eze asked: “Is there really a contest in this race for Senate President that would warrant anyone touching the rules?”

“The amendment has nothing to do with David Mark as a person or an individual.
It has to do with the institutional integrity to allow the legislature to continue to play its stabilising role in our democracy,’’ Eze said.

Defending the amendment

Eze's intervention came amidst wide spread condemnation that the Senate was attempting to amend its rules in order to prevent an incoming Senator from contesting for Senate President against the incumbent.

According to Eze, the move by the Senators is in the noblest of ideals, intended only to further clarify the issue of ranking in the Senate.

He said the amendment was not targeted to stop anyone from contesting the position of a presiding officer.

The spokesman said all those who were contemplating going to court to challenge the action of the Senate might be embarking on an exercise in futility.

Eze added that the constitution had given the legislature the powers to regulate its proceedings.

The spokesman, however, asserted that the job of a Presiding Officer was too challenging for a new-time Senator to carry out efficiently without prior experience in the legislature.

Eze said that the Senate was working tirelessly to complete work on pending bills, assuring also that the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill would be passed before the end of the 6th National Assembly.

NAN/Williams