After a 30-day recess, senators will return for plenary on Tuesday, January 30, in Abuja.
It’s their first resumption in 2024 after the earlier scheduled January 23 date was extended by one week.
The lawmakers had begun a full Christmas and New Year break on December 30, shortly after passing the N28.7 trillion 2024 budget along with the House of Representatives.
Checks by Nigerian Tribune on Monday showed that rising insecurity in the country, especially the rapid spread of kidnappings in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) lately, would likely be among the issues for deliberations in the weeks ahead.
Findings indicated that a motion seeking a resolution to investigate and address the increasing attacks in the FCT and parts of the country by criminal elements would be on the table.
Only last week, the senator representing the FCT, Sen. Ireti Kingibe, gave hints that she would initiate a motion on the security situation in the territory.
Further amendments to the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022 are also on the table of the Senate, especially in the light of controversies thrown up by the Supreme Court’s decisions on the electoral disputes in Kano, Plateau, and other states.
“There is now an urgency to look into the issue of extending the appellate jurisdiction on state Houses of Assembly and National Assembly electoral disputes to terminate at the Supreme Court”, one official told Nigerian Tribune on Monday.
The newspaper gathered that specifically, Section 233 (1)(e) 246 (1)(3) of the constitution might be tabled for a review, among others to address the “confusion” thrown up by some recent judicial pronouncements.
In the case of Plateau state for example, some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members of the State House of Assembly and the National Assembly were sacked by both the lower tribunal and the Court of Appeal over pre-election disputes.
However, the state Governor, Mr Caleb Mutfwang, affected by the same case, had his victory affirmed by the apex court after it overturned the judgment of the appeal court, removing him from office.
Kano state Governor, Mr Abba Yusuf, also had his victory affirmed by the supreme court, which overturned the earlier decision of both the lower tribunal and the court of appeal against Yusuf.
“The difference in the case of the governors and that of the legislators is that the law today allows governorship disputes to extend to the apex court, while electoral disputes arising from state Houses of Assembly and National Assembly elections terminate at the court of appeal.
“So, a likely amendment they will push for this time is to extend the appellate jurisdiction of all cases to the supreme court”, the official added.
Nigerian Tribune also learned that some members of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF) were poised to press for a senate resolution to halt the relocation of some directorates of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Airports of Nigeria (FAAN) from Abuja to Lagos.
Senate Majority Whip, Sen. Ali Ndume, is the arrowhead of the senators’ mounting pressure for a senate resolution to halt the relocation on the excuse that it’s against the interest of the North.
However, findings showed that the NSF as a body, had yet to take a formal position on the matter, aside from calling for a full investigation to be conducted into it first.
Among other issues, plans to unveil the Legislative Agenda of the 10th Senate under the leadership of Sen. Godswill Akpabio will top the agenda this period.
Efforts by Nigerian Tribune on Monday to reach the Senate Leader, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, and the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Sen. Adaramola Yemi, for additional information, were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
