The House of Representatives, led by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, has taken a dramatic step by suspending all Senate-sponsored bills until the Senate acts on the backlog of 146 bills sent from the House for concurrence. The move reflects deep frustration over what lawmakers describe as the upper chamber’s repeated failure to prioritize House-originated legislation.
The standoff reached a critical point on Wednesday when the House declined to consider two Senate-backed measures—one to create an orthopaedic hospital in Osun State and another to establish a medical university in Kogi State—citing the Senate’s habit of sidelining bills from the House.
Minority Leader Kingsley Chinda delivered a reluctant seconding of the motion, lamenting the Senate’s persistent neglect: “I reluctantly support the motion… but we don’t get that same treatment at the Senate”. Other representatives echoed the sentiment, with Rivers State’s Awaji‑Iniombek Abiante noting that two of his private member bills have been stuck in the Senate since early 2024.
In response, Borno’s Ahmed Jaha suggested that both chambers’ Rules and Business committees formalize stricter timelines and a reciprocal approach: “If they don’t do ours, we won’t do theirs”.
Speaker Tajudeen emphasized the scale of the delay: “From what the Clerk told me, we have 146 bills with the Senate… some have been there for more than six months. No attention. We don’t know what is happening”. He then announced that going forward, Senate bills would be stalled unless the Senate provides assurances on the House’s own pending measures.
This bold maneuver highlights rising tension between the National Assembly’s chambers and underscores a growing battle over legislative respect and reciprocity. Watch for upcoming negotiations between Speaker Tajudeen and Senate leadership as lawmakers insist on a more balanced and timely legislative process.
