Grace Omachoko
The Senate has amended its standing orders to effectively stop first-term senators from vying for the position of Senate president and Deputy.
The decision by the Senate came a few months after Senator Abdulaziz Yari, a first-term senator who had earlier served in the House of Representatives, contested against Senator Godswill Akpabio for the position of Senate president.
Giving the new amendment to the standing orders of the Senate, first-term senators are now exempted from those qualified or eligible to contest for the position of presiding officers of the Red Chambers.
The amendment of rule 3(2) (1-3) of the Senate Standing Orders followed a motion moved by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC – Ekiti Central).
The motion was titled: “Amendment of the Standing Orders of the Senate pursuant to Order 109 of the Senate Standing Orders, 2022 (As Amended).”
Rule 3 of the Senate Standing Orders as amended now stipulates that any senator wishing to contest for the position of the Senate President and Deputy Senate President must have spent a minimum of one term in the senate.
The Senate also amended its rules and created an additional nine Standing Committees.
Notably, the Senate presently has 74 Standing Committees.