Lawmakers Bicker, Postpone Passage of Bill to Remove N’Assembly from Contributory Pension Scheme

•Okay peace corps establishment, others 

•Urge petroleum ministry, NNPCL to survey, ascertain availability of hydro-carbon in Bida Basin

Udora Orizu in Abuja

Members of the House of Representatives at plenary yesterday argued over the final passage of a bill seeking to amend the Pension Reform Act, 2014, to exempt personnel of the National Assembly Service from the contributory pension scheme and to establish the National Assembly Service Pensions Board.

The lawmakers had on November 24, during its Committee of the Whole chaired by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Idris Wase, passed the bill sponsored by the Chairman, Committee on National Planning and Economy Development, Hon. Olododo Cook.

However, there was rowdy session yesterday, when it was presented for third reading, to be subsequently transmitted to the president for assent.

The Deputy Chairman Committee on Pensions, Hon. Bamidele Salam had a raised a point of order urging the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila to step down the third reading of the bill, saying any attempt to exempt certain classes of people from the contributory pension scheme may lead to the collapse of that system.

He said, “I don’t see the need to exit the National Assembly from this contributory pension scheme. The overdoing consideration has been that any attempt to exempt certain classes of people from the contributory pension scheme may lead to the collapse of that system. This will open a flood gate of other demands by other critical sectors.”

Corroborating Salam’s statement, another member of the Committee, Hon. Bem Mzondu, said the right procedures to the bill’s passage was not followed.

He reminded the Speaker that he didn’t grant the Committee their request for a public hearing to be held on the bill before sending it to the Committee of the Whole.

He said, “The right procedures were not followed. We requested for a public hearing, we wrote to your office but our requested was not considered. If we open this flood gates of exit, many requests will come in.

“It means the pension scheme will collapse. Because every agency wants to exit the pension scheme. I plead this should be stepped down.”

Countering their statements, the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Idris Wase, making reference to the standing order of the House said the Speaker has the right to commit any bill to Committee of the Whole.

Wase, while insisting that not all bills must go through public hearing, queried his colleagues opposing the bill’s passage on if they don’t care about the welfare of the people serving them.

“This bill didn’t come today, there was first and second reading and today we are committing it to third reading. Not all bills must go through public hearing. I don’t know why any matter that pertains to national assembly we are the first to raise issues, is that we don’t care about the welfare of the same people that are serving us?,” Wase said

Agreeing with Wase, the Chairman House Committee on Rules and Business, Hon. Hassan Fulata said the bill was brought to the relevant committees but they couldn’t do their job and was discharged and recommitted to the Committee of the Whole.

Also, the lawmakers passed through third reading a bill seeking to establish the Nigeria Peace Corps, to facilitate peace, volunteerism, community services, neighbourhood watch and nation building.

In addition, they also passed a bill for an Act to Repeal the National Commission for Refugees Act, Cap. N21 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and Enact the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons Act for the Management, Rehabilitation Return, Reintegration and Resettlement of Refugees, Migrants and Victims of Displacement.

With the passage, the bills would be transmitted to the president for possible assent.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has urged the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to conclude the geophysical survey that the defunct Department of Petroleum Resources started in order to ascertain the availability of hydro-carbon in commercial quantity in the Bida Basin.

The resolution of the lawmakers followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon Saidu Musa Abdullahi at plenary yesterday.

Moving the motion, Abdullahi noted that the Bida Basin also known as the Mid-Niger Basin comprise of eight Local Government Areas including Mokwa, Lavun, Gbako, Bida, Katcha, Agaie, Edati and Lapai in the Southern part of Niger State which extends to two local government areas in Kwara State and one in Kogi State.

He said the House was aware that the Group Managing Director of NNPCL, Mele Kyari during a visit to the Executive Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello to unveil the 2D Seismic Data Acquisition in the Bida Basin in 2020, announced that the NNPC had commenced oil exploration activities in the area and that the exploration could add 40 billion barrels to Nigeria’s oil reserves by 2023.

He said the House was also aware that the GMD noted that in-depth geo-logical and geo-chemical studies revealed a strong presence of hydrocarbon-bearing indicators confirmed as oil and gas-bearing formations.

He expressed optimism that the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its relevant Agencies would expedite action for the continuation of the oil exploration activities at the Bida Basin Niger State and other Basins in the country.

In the meantime, the House stepped down motion seeking to direct security agencies to withdraw all checkpoints and adopt patrol and intelligence coordination operations on Nigeria roads.