HOUSE ENDS SESSION, APPROVES 15 SPECIAL ADVISERS
The 7th House of Representatives has finally drawn the curtain as it held its last sitting on Thursday 4th, June 2015. It will be recalled that the Assembly was inaugurated on 5th of June, 2011 for a 4-year term, at the end of which it stands dissolved to pave way for the succeeding Assembly, in this case, the 8th Assembly. A valedictory session which naturally precedes the end of any legislature ought to have been held on this Thursday, but it was rather hosted a week ago to honour the Speaker Aminu Tambuwal who at the time was to be sworn-in as the Executive Governor of Sokoto State. Consequently, a proper handover was done when the office of the Speaker of the House was declared vacant. A motion was moved in tandem with the Standing Orders of the House for the then Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha to become the Speaker for the remainder of the legislative life of the 7th House; it was unanimously carried, thus Ihedioha became a Speaker for 4 legislative days.
Before entertaining the motion for the formal winding down of the session, the House passed 15 Bills in concurrence with the Senate and approved the request of President Mahammadu Buhari for the appointment of 15 Special Advisers. Some of the Bills passed were Labour Safety and Health Bill, 2015; Proceeds of Crime Bill, 2015; Hydro-Electric Power producing areas development commission (amendment) Bill, 2015 among others. On the other hand, the outgoing House leader, Mulikat Akande averred that it is within the rights of Mr. President to appoint any person as a Special Adviser to assist him in the discharge of his onerous functions as enshrined in in section 151(1) of the 1999 Constitution. Adding that sub (2) of same section also empowers the National Assembly to either by law or resolution, prescribe the number of such Special Assistants alongside their remunerations and allowances.
Meanwhile, the House observed a minute silence to pray for the peaceful repose of all the victims of the petroleum tanker explosion in Anambra State few days ago. It also urged the Federal Ministry of Environment to quickly fumigate the scene of the accident with a view to forestalling any form of environmental hazards. The resolution which came on the heels of a motion of matters of urgent public importance, moved by Uche Ekwunife, also directed the Federal Road Safety Corps to put adequate measures in place to ensure traffic control, especially for petroleum tanker drivers. Also, the House approved the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) 2015 budget of N299, 526, 463, 156.12.