National Assembly Roundup: Storm over Shari’a bill, Oyo State creation bill, old Naira notes, other stories from Reps

Sharia Bill rejection

Religion remains one of the most sensitive issues in Nigeria. This stems from the bitter experiences of past ethno-religious crises in places like Jos and Kaduna.

On Wednesday, the debate on a bill seeking to amend the constitution and expand the coverage of Sharia law exposed the nation’s religious fault lines.

The bill, sponsored by Aliyu Misau, aimed to amend sections 24, 262, 277, and 288 of the 1999 Constitution by removing the word “personal” wherever “Islamic law” is mentioned.

For instance, section 262 states, “The Sharia Court of Appeal shall, in addition to such other jurisdiction as may be conferred upon it by an Act of the National Assembly, exercise such appellate and supervisory jurisdiction in civil proceedings involving questions of Islamic personal law.”

The bill sought to remove the term “personal” from this section, leaving “Islamic law” to stand alone.

As expected, lawmakers from the South and Christians from the North-Central spoke vehemently against the bill, while Muslim lawmakers from the North spoke in favour of it.

Ultimately, an overwhelming majority of members on the floor rejected the bill.

Fresh move to split Oyo State before Reps

On Tuesday, the House passed for a second reading a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution to create a new Oyo State from the existing state, with Oyo town as the capital.

The bill, sponsored by Akeem Adeyemi (APC, Oyo) and eight others, also proposes that the remaining parts of the state become Ibadan State, with Ibadan as the capital.

This bill seeks to create two states with one measure. Additionally, there is another bill by Oluwole Oke seeking to create Oke Ogun State from the same Oyo State.

No civilian administration in the country has succeded in creating states since the defunct Midwestern Region was created out of the defunct Western Region in the First Republic.

Constitution Review Committee gets seven sub-committees

Also focused on constitution review, the House Committee on Constitution Review, chaired by Deputy Speaker Ben Kalu, held a session on the ongoing exercise.

During the meeting, Mr Kalu announced the establishment of seven sub-committees to manage the process. The subcommittees have been assigned thematic areas to focus on.

Ben Kalu (PHOTO CREDIT: FRCN)

Mr Kalu also announced a planned summit on the gender aspects of the constitution.

Lawmaker makes false claims about old notes

Once again, misinformation went unchecked on Tuesday in the House when a lawmaker, Afam Ogene, falsely claimed that there is a deadline of 31 December for the withdrawal of old naira notes.

Mr Ogene used this misinformation to convince the House to pass a resolution urging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to start withdrawing existing old naira notes.

The lawmaker claimed that the Supreme Court ruling stipulated 31 December as a deadline; however, this is false.

However, the Supreme Court did not state any specific date for the validity of old notes. The court ruled that the two currencies should co-exist until the government decides otherwise.

Hours after the House’s resolution, the CBN issued a statement debunking the claim, assuring Nigerians not to panic.

Another recruitment racketeering probe

The House of Representatives is launching another probe into recruitment practices at some federal government agencies—despite a previous investigation by another committee that ended in a bribery scandal.

The new probe by the House targets the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

This resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by the Minority Whip, Ali Isa (PDP, Gombe), on Thursday.

To investigate the three agencies, the House resolved to establish an ad hoc committee to examine the recruitment processes within these agencies.

This latest probe comes at a time FIRS announced a planned recruitment drive, raising concerns that lawmakers may use the investigation to bargain for employment slots.