• Reps seek constitutional immunity for legislative Houses
• Canvass body on arms' control
AFTER being on the trenches over the controversial Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), warring northern and southern senators Thursday had to sheath their swords and unanimously endorsed the bill for a second reading.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Thursday moved to grant constitutional immunity to members of legislative Houses in Nigeria.
In a related development, the House Thursday passed for second reading a Bill to provide for the establishment of a National Commission Against the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the country.
Some senators had argued for the passage of the PIB, saying it was for the country's benefits.
Senator Olubunmi Adetunbi (Ekiti North) harped on lack of regulatory agency for the petroleum sector. "My position on this bill is largely that of regulation because there are basic principles for regulatory authorities and I think that is what is missing in this bill", he said.
Senator Smart Adeyemi (Kogi-West), had in his contribution, stressed that in canvassing national unity, efforts should be made to guarantee equity and balance. He hoped that the agency charged with the exploration of oil across the country in the bill would perform according to expectations.
Senate President, David Mark, who later intervened over the row at the end of a three-day debate, cautioned that the bill should not be seen as North versus South, noting that what is good for one part of the country is equally good for the other.
He observed that in the course of the debate, lawmakers were united over certain provisions in the bill, including the power of Petroleum Minister, adequate funding and independence of frontier exploration agency, as well as the power of the President to issue licences to oil companies and award oil blocs.
Mark, who at this point succeeded in stabilising emotions and raging sentiments, described the bill as a worthy one. He, however, wondered if it would guarantee the much-expected transparency in the oil sector.
Referring the Bill to a joint committee on Petroleum Up-Stream, Petroleum Down-Stream, Judiciary and Gas for further legislative inputs, Mark called for clause by clause scrutiny so that at the end of the day, it is discarded for want of objectivity.
The Legislative Houses' Powers and Privileges' Act made provisions for certain level of immunity from civil and, or criminal proceedings, against lawmakers in the course of carrying out their duties.
But sponsors of the two Bills, which were consolidated for debate on the floor yesterday, Chairman of the House Committee on Justice, Ali Ahmed and Ralph Igbokwe, argued that past experiences have shown that the Act was not in tandem with Section 4(8) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and thus a challenge to its application.
The Bill, if passed into law, would prevent members of the Legislature from criminal and civil court cases being instituted against them in respect of the words spoken or written at the plenary sessions, or at committee proceedings, to the effect that such shall not be questioned in any court or any place outside the Parliament.
When established, the Parliament said the commission would coordinate and implement activities to fight against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria in line with the Economic Community of West African (ECOWAS) Convention on small arms and light weapons.
Leading the debate, sponsor of the bill, Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje (PDP, Abia), said the intendment of the proposed legislation was to address the current security challenges confronting the nation.
She said Nigeria was the only ECOWAS member-country without the commission, even though it was a signatory to the ECOWAS convention on small arms and light weapons, which recommended its establishment to track down the spread of illegal weapons among its citizens.
Elendu-Ukeje disclosed that research has shown that out of the 857 million small arms and weapons in the world, 500 million are illegal with 100 million found in sub-Saharan Africa, adding that 7.5 per cent were in Nigeria.
The Guardian
It's very good the senators had settled and are now back ever.such beefs are nt encouraged