Senate Passes Bill To Legalise Amnesty Fund …As Members Disagree Over Number Of APC, PDP Lawmakers

The Nigerian Senate yesterday passed the Presidential Programme on Rehabilitation and Reintegration bill which seeks to give legal backing to the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme.
The bill, was passed after a clause by clause consideration of the Conference Committee report presented by the Leader of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan.
In his presentation, Senator Lawan noted that the passage will finally give a legal backing to welfare packages disbursed to ex- militants in the Niger Delta.
In his remarks, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary the noted that bill if ascented to by President Buhari will bring about stability in the oil rich region.
In a related development, the Senate also passed the Ajaokuta steel Company Completion Fund Bill, 2018 earlier sent to the upper chamber from the House of representatives for concurrence
Meanwhile, Presiding Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, yesterday overruled the Majority Leader, Ahmed Lawan, over the partisan membership of lawmakers in the upper legislative chamber.
This issue was sequel to an adopted point of order by the Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan (APC -Yobe) claiming that the number of APC senators was 56 above 46 members of the opposition PDP senators in the Senate.
But Ekweremadu countered him, saying his claim lacks validity as there was yet any reliable record to prove him right.
Lawan’s point of order was premised on a report he read on one of the dailies suggesting that the number of APC and PDP senators in the hallowed chamber was incorrect, hence the need to put the record straight.
He said, “The daily put the figure that the APC senators are 57 and PDP senators, 58.
“For the record, Mr President, APC senators are 56 and PDP senators are 46.
“Again, it was reported that when a question was put for the confirmation of Festus Keyamo for NDIC governing board, the nays had it, but that you said the ayes had it.
“For the record, the first you put the question, there was no clear winner, so you put the question again, and Mr President, your judgment was right because the ayes had it.
“I needed to put the record straight so that nobody in the future is misguided on what happened in the Senate,” he said.
Lawan was referring to the confirmation of Keyamo and five others as members of the Board of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) by the Senate last Wednesday.
Lawan had proceeded to present the first item on the Order Paper when Ekweremadu interrupted him to respond to the issues he raised.
Ekweremadu said the newspaper report on Keyamo’s confirmation votes should not be an issue since they were in compliance with the Senate Rules, and no senator complained about it.
“Then on the issue of the number, I don’t think there is any particular statistics in respect of how many APC or PDP members are in the Senate,” he maintained.