The Senate has rejected allegations by the House of Representatives that it has been stalling legislative progress by delaying concurrence on bills passed by the lower chamber.
During the plenary on Tuesday, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, clarified the Senate’s position, underpinning that the upper chamber has been diligent in attending to bills forwarded by the House.
Responding to recent claims that the Senate had failed to act on over 140 House-passed bills, including several sponsored by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, the Senate leader disclosed that the Senate considered no fewer than six concurrence bills just last week.
The Senate President said, “We cannot joke with concurrence bills from the House of Representatives, we are committed to working together in the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians. It takes two hands to clap.”
This reaction by the Senate leadership followed a slight tension experienced at the House of Representatives last week when members of the green chamber resolved to suspend further consideration of bills originating from the Senate, citing what it described as persistent delays in legislative concurrence from the red chamber.
A file photo of members of the House of Reps. Photo: X@HouseNGR
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But Bamidele, while presenting one of the bills from the House during plenary on Tuesday, explained that the Senate has remained consistent in processing concurrence bills in line with constitutional responsibilities.
He said, “For the record, we have been doing what we are supposed to do. Only last week, the Senate concurred on six bills from the House of Representatives. We know we have the principle of reciprocity that governs our operations, but this does not necessarily mean garbage in, garbage out.
“We have the duty, as the foremost democratic institution in the country, to exercise due diligence on the bills. We will continue to consider concurrence bills from the House of Representatives in the same way they considered our bills. We will ensure that it is given attention in overriding public interest. I just want to say this for the record.”
Former Action Democratic Party (ADP) candidate Mathias Tsado has criticized the Senate for treating Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, calling her the institution’s “star girl,” who deserves to be celebrated, not suspended.
Tsado berated the Senate’s decision to reinstate the Kogi Central lawmaker despite a Federal High Court order overturning her suspension while appearing as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday.
According to a poll conducted by the API (Africa Polling Institute), 82 percent of Nigerians don’t trust the country’s Senate. They are now attacking their star girl, who is supposed to be their number nine striker.
Senator Natasha continues to influence the lives of the people despite all of this. Many young people have benefited from her as a source of inspiration. The Senate ought to have commended her by saying, “You are our star girl,” Tsado said.
They “Have No Right To Admit Her,” they claim.
The Senate acknowledged the verdict, but it still needs to obtain the CTC to make a decision.
Tsado claimed that the Senate, in spite of the court’s ruling, had no legal standing to postpone her return.
It’s unfortunate that we’ve restricted our role as a nation to these kinds of considerations. We immediately became aware of Natasha’s mishandling by the Senate. It is inspiring for a woman to fight her way into the Senate against all odds.
“But the Senate insists that it must submit the CTC’s report. They don’t have the first right to admit her. Sadly, Nigeria’s judgments, which are supposed to be concise and unambiguous, are subject to selective enforcement.
Would they be awaiting the CTC if the judge had ordered Senator Natasha to be imprisoned? Did they wait until the CTC before talking about it when she was found guilty of contempt and ordered to pay $5 million? “he said.
Tsado urged the lawmakers to take a decisive decision despite claiming that the real issue is that the Senate abused its authority.
They imposed a suspension for more than 14 days as per their rule book. That is prohibited. Who punishes the Senate for overreaching their constitutional restrictions if Natasha is facing a court-imposed penalty for contempt?
“She said she would wait for the documents before resuming,” I heard her say yesterday. However, I want to urge the Nigerian Senate to “man up and leave this theater alone.” Nigerians do not want these things to happen, he claimed.
Senate’s Response to a Court Decision
On May 13, 2025, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
On July 4, 2025, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja annulled Akpoti-Uduaghan’s six-month suspension, calling it excessive and constitutional.
The judge criticized the Senate’s standing rules and the Legislative Houses’ Powers and Privileges Act as being overreaching and claimed that the punishment denied her constituents representation.
The Senate has since stated that it won’t take action until it receives the judgment’s Certified True Copy.
No party can impose any perceived order or relief, according to Senate spokesperson, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, adding that no one has been officially served the enrolled order of the judgment.
Our legal representatives, who were present at the hearing, have confirmed that the entire decision was not read in court. In response, we have formally requested the CTC to facilitate a thorough examination and informed choice of legal response.
The Senate shall refrain from acting on the advice of its attorneys and, in the event of receipt and examination of the CTC, refrain from acting in any way that might adversely affect its legal position. The Senate is still committed to upholding international law.
Suspension, and Allegations
Senators Godswill Akpabio and Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (L) and Senate President Godswill Akpabio in a photo montage
Following a row over seat allocation during the plenary, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended on March 6, 2025.
He disputed her accusations of sexual harassment and abuse of office, which she had brought against him.
The Senate disciplinary committee found her petition to be ineffective on procedural grounds, but she resubmitted it the following day. The Senate then suspended her for six months and barred her from plenary sessions.
That caused protests in some areas of the nation. Akpoti-Uduaghan filed the lawsuit with the court, and the international organization referred to the suspension as unlawful. In Abuja, she is currently facing defamation and cybercrime charges.
Justice Nyako argued, however, that while the Senate has the authority to impose sanctions, such measures must not violate the constitutional rights of the people to be represented.
Following an attack by armed men posing as bandits, armed men in Kukawa village, Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State, carried out a deadly ambush that left eight people dead.
A group of fighters reportedly arrived on motorcycles and claimed they were attempting to stop bandits from terrorizing the area during the incident, which took place on Monday around 2:30 p.m.
The attackers, who are believed to be members of a group called “Hulabe,” who are thought to be from Kukawa, stole the community under the pretense of protecting it, only to cause chaos shortly after, according to the village head of Kukawa, Ismail Isa Kukawa.
They claimed to have arrived to combat bandits. But then, they started looting stores, shooting frequently to frighten locals, and taking things away, Mallam Isa recalled.
After the raid, the attackers reportedly fled into the nearby bush. The village head continued, “They killed two traders who were leaving the village and headed for the local market.”
Mallam Isa expressed shock that the organization, which had initially claimed to be fighting bandits, had instead engaged in illegal activities, including raiding stores and stealing goods worth millions of naira.
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According to reports, the assault occurred on Monday in border towns spread between Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, and Taraba states, which have recently experienced numerous bandit attacks.
Residents are concerned that the whereabouts of a vigilante group that had earlier pursued the bandits across the Wase and Kanam LGAs are unknown, adding to their concern.
Three members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have filed a suit, challenging the interim leadership of the party led by a former Senate President, David Mark, before a Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the suit filed on July 4, the plaintiffs, Adeyemi Emmanuel, Ayodeji Tolu, and Haruna Ismaila, are asking the court to determine the legality of the interim leadership of the ADC.
They hold that Nwosu lacks the right to convene either a National Working Committee (NWC) or National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting or any other since his tenure as national chairman has expired.
The plaintiffs also stated that interim executives “cannot and should not act” in a leadership capacity, noting that they were appointed by an illegal meeting organised by a former national chairman.
Among several reliefs sought, the plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the appointment of Mark, Aregbesola, and Abdullahi as “unconstitutional, unlawful, null, and void”.
They also prayed the court for an order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) “from recognising the fourth, fifth, and sixth defendants as the interim national chairman, national secretary, and national publicity secretary of the first defendant (ADC)”.
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Opposition politicians unveiled the ADC on July 2nd as the platform to rally votes against President Bola Tinubu in the next elections.
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, a former minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi; and Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, are at the forefront of the opposition campaign.
The coalition appointed Mark and an ex-governor of Osun state, Rauf Aregbesola, as interim national chairman and secretary, respectively.
Bolaji Abdullahi, a former minister of sports, was appointed as the party’s spokesperson.
On medical grounds, Justice Maryann Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja has set a hearing date for July 17 to hear a request from Yahaya Bello, the immediate-ex-gouverneur of Kogi State, to leave the country.
His attorney, Joseph Daudu (SAN), informed the court that he had requested that the registrar grant his client’s request for the release of his client’s international passport so that he could travel for medical treatment.
However, the EFCC counsel had a counteraffidavit, claiming that granting the request could halt future proceedings.
In response to the counteraffidavit from the prosecution team, Daudu claimed that the defendant’s team had also submitted a further affidavit of 20 paragraphs, which the applicant had presented himself with two exhibits on July 7, 2025.
ADC Members File Suit Contesting Interim Executive’s Positions’ Legality.
“Exhibit C is the CTC of your lordship’s decision allowing the defendant to be released on bail, and Exhibit D is the FHC’s decision allowing him to be released.”
He continued, “We urged your lordship to grant our application by adopting these documents.”
responding to the prosecution’s claim that the request was a case of abuse of court due to the fact that a similar request was made at the FHC.
He argued that the court process could not have been used abusively. He argued in favor of the fact that the complainant was the one to bring those allegations before various courts.
Daudu claimed that applying in one court and not the other court would be futile.
The defendant should have given his sureties notice when he applied to leave the country, according to Chukwudi Enebele (SAN), the prosecution attorney, who defended the EFCC’s counteraffidavit.
He believes that the sureties must decide whether to remain his security when he travels.
The defendant’s attorney were also attempting to converge the courts by filing the same application at both the FCT High Court and Federal High Court, he added.
Daudu responded by saying that the sureties knew of this already.
It is a dead argument, to be sure, regarding the interpol issue. He has never broken the law of your lordship. They have even forgotten about those red alerts, the attorney continued, urging the court to approve the application.
A three-day warning strike is being held by Ondo State’s government medical staff starting on July 14, 2025, under the direction of the National Association of Government General and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMDP).
The Ondo State Government is acting in response to what the doctors described as gross disregard for the health industry and the welfare of medical professionals.
The state chapter of NAGGMDP, Richard Obe, the president’s representative, and Adekunle Owolabi, the secretary, both signed a statement outlining their grievances with the government.
The grievances include, according to the statement:
– Medical staff shortage, with some general hospitals only providing one doctor per local government area. Additionally, the doctors criticized the doctors’ refusal to consult with them about a sudden increase in taxes starting in April 2025.
– Eight newly hired doctors who have been working since October 2024 have not received salaries or benefits.
– Unpaid hazard allowances for January 2024 and October 2023.
– Outstanding promotions from June to December 2024
– Unpaid allowances and salary gaps for other members
The state government must immediately address these issues, according to the NAGGMDP.
Among them are:
– Rapid recruitment of additional doctors in the Ondo State.
– Full reimbursement for statutory benefits and salary arrears
– Changes to the new taxation structure
– Payment of newly hired officers’ outstanding salaries and benefits
– Payment of eligible members’ owed hazard allowances and payment of promotion arrears
The doctors warned that ignoring these demands during the warning strike would lead to an unfavorable strike that would have a long-term impact on the state’s already fragile healthcare system.
They expressed their commitment to providing healthcare to the general public, stating that they were unable to work in such challenging circumstances.
