Ahead of the 2027 general elections ,the Senate in10th National Assembly, has put at its front burner of legislation , consideration and passage of bills on electoral reforms as well as those on Constitution review.
Priorities in this respect , were disclosed by the Leader of the Senate , Senator Micheal Opeyemi Bamidele in a personally signed statement in Abuja on Sunday.
Bamidele who in the statement reeled out achievements made by the Senate in the first half of its tenure ( June 13, 2023 – June 13, 2025), said a total of
983 bills – both executive and private-members- were introduced between June 13, 2023 and June 12, 2025, 108 of which were fully passed into laws within the timeframe.
“As the second half of the 10th National Assembly takes off in earnest, all Nigerians should look forward to the reforms of the country’s electoral system, review of the 1999 Constitution as well as the reforms of the judiciary, among others, as key priority areas that would receive significant attention of the Senate”, he said.
Planned reforms of the country’s electoral regime he added , aims at ensuring that every vote continues to count; guarantee good governance in the country and make participation in our electoral process more interesting for the decent and innocent citizens.
“When you know that if you contest for an election, your vote will definitely count. This assurance will make democracy more interesting for our people, enhance voters’ participation in the process and make our electoral process more credible and transparent”, he said.
“We are equally looking forward to greater judicial reforms in the next two years to ensure justice is done transparently and tenaciously.
“We already have various bills that seek the reforms of the judiciary. While some are seeking a review of how judges and judicial officers are appointed, others focus on their length of service and welfare”, he added.
On bills introduced and passed within the last two years, the Senate leader explained how the institution had leveraged the instrument of strategic engagement to carry out its constitutional mandates, enacting legislations that stabilised the country’s fiscal, monetary and political environments.
He said: “In the 2024/2025 legislative year, for instance, 506 bills were initiated in the Senate alone compared to 477 in 2023/2024.
“This represents a 6.07% increase. Also, in the 2024/2025 legislative year, the upper chamber fully passed 83 bills into law compared to 25 in the previous legislative year.
“This represents truly a great feat that glaringly accounts for a 232% increase in the number of fully enacted legislations between 2023 and 2025. Against 13 in the 2023/2024 legislative year, the Senate dwelt with 26 executive bills in 2024/2025, invariably indicating a 100% upsurge. This record shows that 464 private member bills were initiated in 2023/2024 compared to 480 in 2024/2025.
“By 2024/2025 legislative year, 89 bills are awaiting first reading in the upper chamber as against 135 in 2024/2025; 45 awaiting second reading in 2023/2024 contrary to 230 in 2024/2025; 215 appointments were confirmed in 2023/2024 compared 116 in 2024/2025 and 50 different petitions successfully resolved in 2023/2024 with 80 duly addressed in 2024/2025.”