By Giwa SHILE
The House of Representatives, on Wednesday, discharged 16 committees from referrals on 25 bills pursuant to Order 17, Rule 3 (1) (g) of the Standing Orders of the Green Chamber.
The rule states that: “Any matter referred to any Committee shall be treated within 30 days otherwise the Committee shall stand discharged after 60 days and the matter committed to the Committee of the Whole for consideration.”
The discharge followed a unanimous adoption of a motion by the Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Rep. Edward Pwajok (APC-Plateau) at the plenary presided over by Speaker Yakubu Dogara.
Some of the bills are Medical Rehabilitation Therapists Registration Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016; Investment and Security Act (Amendment) Bill, 2015; Inland Fisheries Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and Loans (State Development) Act (Repeal) Bill, 2016.
The bills also include Food, Drugs and Related Products (Registration, Etc.) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2016; Standards Organisation of Nigeria Act (Amendment) Bill, 2015; Communications (Reducing Unsolicited Telecommunications Phone Calls and Text) Bill, 2016 and Unclaimed Financial Assets Bill, 2016, among others.
The committees discharged of the bills are House Committees on Health Services; Capital Market and Institutions; Ports, Habours and Waterways; Aids, Loans and Debt Management; Industry; Telecommunications; and Commerce.
They also include National Planning and Development; Insurance and Actuarial Matters, and Finance; Agricultural Production and Services; Federal Capital; Special Duties; Justice; Police Affairs, among others.
Pwajok recalled that the bills were read a second time separately between 2016 and 2017 and referred to the respective committees for further legislative actions.
According to him, the committees are yet to present reports on the bills contrary to the provisions of Order Seventeen, Rule 3 (1) (g) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives.
In his ruling, Dogara, discharged the committees of bills and committed same to the committee of the Whole house for consideration.
