The House of Representatives on Tuesday abruptly adjourned plenary after a lengthy closed-door session, leaving several key bills and motions listed on the order paper unattended.
The sitting, presided over by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, began with the usual National Anthem, prayers, and brief announcements before lawmakers moved into an executive session that lasted nearly two hours.
When the House reconvened, an attempt by Hon. Uzokwe Peter Lovepet Ifeanyi (Dike-Udo), who represents Nnewi North, Nnewi South, and Ekwusigo Federal Constituency, to raise a point of order was not acknowledged by the Speaker.
Instead, Speaker Abbas proceeded to entertain a motion for adjournment, which was promptly moved by the Majority Leader and carried without debate, effectively ending the day’s proceedings.
Plenary was adjourned until Wednesday.
While the outcome of the closed-door meeting was not officially disclosed, sources suggest it may be linked to last week’s tense standoff in the chamber over the non-release of funds for capital projects in the 2024 and 2025 budgets.
During that previous executive session, presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, lawmakers reportedly expressed frustration over the abandonment of project sites nationwide due to unpaid contractor certificates.
Members had lamented that despite the National Assembly’s approval of funds, there had been no visible progress on many constituency projects.
The adjournment meant that several motions and bills scheduled for debate were left pending.
Among the deferred motions were:
- A motion urging the Nigerian Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) to establish a Special Agricultural Processing and Export Zone in Kebbi State, sponsored by Hon. Ibrahim Mohammed.
- A motion on the indiscriminate sale of public land and assets in FHA/ENL Estates, Guzape, moved by Hon. Esosa Iyawe.
- Another motion addressing the collapse of local rice farming and milling industries across Nigeria.
Key bills that were slated for second reading but were not considered include:
- A constitutional amendment bill seeking to create additional Local Government Areas in Plateau State (HB.2590), sponsored by Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase.
- A bill to amend the Electricity Act, 2023, providing a regulatory framework for nuclear energy development in Nigeria (HB.2138), sponsored by Hon. Victor Obuzor.
- The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Institute (EFCCI) Establishment Bill (HB.2396), sponsored by Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, aimed at setting up a training and research centre for combating economic and financial crimes.
