PIGB, Electoral Act amendment bills, others suffer delay as lawmakers embark on annual recess

Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), Electoral Act, several constitutional amendment bills, reports and many other legislative activities are to suffer delay for almost two months.

This is as both chambers of the National Assembly - Senate and House of Representatives - have embarked on a long annual recess, beginning from Thursday, July 23 to Tuesday, September 15, 2020.

Many critical bills such as the PIGB and Electoral Act amendment, which most Nigerians have been yearning for, did not received attention as assured particularly by the House of Representatives due to the distortion of the legislative calendar by the advent of COVID-19 pandemic.

At the onset of COVID-19, the National Assembly shut down plenary and most legislative activities for over one month (March 24 - April 28), and even after resumption, plenary held once, or at most twice a week, and the National Assembly also went for two weeks end of legislative year recess.

Upon resumption from the two weeks break, the House of Representatives said it would accord priority to the PIGB and Electoral Act Amendment Bills in its second legislative year.

House spokesperson, Benjamin Kalu, while assuring that the laws would be on the front burner in the second legislative session, said: “PIB and the Electoral Act, these are the things that are going to be on the front burner so be patient with us. We are still working round to see how these laws would be done while respecting the COVID-19 protocols.