Reps gives green light to executive state police bill

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved the Executive Bill on the establishment of State Police, paving the way for its transmission to state Houses of Assembly for concurrence.

The bill, forwarded to the National Assembly by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had earlier been passed by the Senate.

The House withdrew its earlier version of the proposal to allow lawmakers consider and adopt the Executive Bill.

Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, who presided over the session, announced that a total of 311 lawmakers participated in the voting process.

According to him, the votes comprised 211 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), 65 members from opposition parties, and 35 other lawmakers who cast their votes electronically.

But while some members of the opposition parties led by Minority Leader, Fred Agbedi, who were not in support of the modalities, staged a walkout to address the press, some others led by Deputy Minority Whip, George Ozodinobi, stayed back inside the chamber and participated in the adoption of the votes and proceedings of the day

The House had earlier passed a resolution allowing members to proceed with the voting process in passing the state police bill through electronic mail.

The House adopted what it called temporary measures in line with the provisions of Order 5, Rule 12 of the Standing Orders of the House and in line with constitutional provisions which provide for a two-thirds majority to alter the constitution.

Attempts by Okey Jesse-Onuakalusi to raise a point of order while presenting the report of the constitution review for the constitution did not succeed as the Speaker refused to allow him to proceed with the order.

The Lagos lawmaker had told the House that he was standing on sections 4, 9, 14A, 71, the 7th Schedule to the Constitution, as well as the House Standing Order to make his observation, but some members shouted him down.

While the House was becoming rowdy, the Speaker asked Onuakalusi to take his seat, even when the lawmaker insisted on being heard, saying it was his right to be heard and not a privilege, but the Speaker refused to allow him to continue.

Details shortly…

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