Nigeria: Reps Propose Alternating Roles for Senate President, Speaker At Joint Sessions

23 October 2024
Daily Trust (Abuja)
By Itodo Daniel Sule
  • Call for GCON honours for deputy Senate president, deputy speaker

The House of Representatives has passed a resolution seeking the restructuring of joint sittings of the National Assembly to alternate roles between the Senate president and the speaker, aiming for parity between the two chambers.

The lawmakers propose that at joint sessions, such as budget presentations, the speaker could open the session while the Senate president delivers closing remarks, and vice versa. Currently, the Senate president presides over the entire session.

This resolution follows the adoption of the report of an ad hoc committee on discrimination in National Honours Awards between the two chambers. The report was presented by House Leader, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere.

A key issue raised was the recent controversy over the award of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, while Speaker Abbas Tajudeen was initially awarded the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR). However, President Bola Tinubu later granted the GCON honour to the speaker as well.

The house commended Tinubu for extending the GCON to the speaker but stressed that this recognition should also be given to the deputy speaker, the deputy Senate president, and other key officers to ensure equality within the National Assembly.

Additionally, the house urged that former presiding officers and principal officers of both chambers should receive similar honours for their service.

The house also criticised the public perception that portrays the Senate as superior to the House of Representatives, calling for a narrative shift. It recommended avoiding terms such as "Upper Chamber" and "Lower Chamber" and proposed abolishing the title "Chairman of the National Assembly," which implies a hierarchy between the two houses.

Lastly, the house called for the establishment of a National Assembly Service Award, similar to the US Congressional Gold Award, to recognise excellence within the legislative body. It also proposed a review of the National Honours Act to reflect current political realities.

Read the original article on Daily Trust.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2024 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 110 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.