COVID-19: House of Reps to review its Legislative Agenda

The House of Representatives says it plans to review its Legislative Agenda to accommodate adequate response to COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Femi Gbajabimila the Speaker of the House said this while receiving a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) who paid him a courtesy visit on Monday in Abuja.

According to him, the legislative agenda as it is, was put together without considering the COVID-19 pandemic, because nobody saw it coming.
“We shall inaugurate a post COVID-19 response team that will work on the best way to respond.

“We are reworking our legislative agenda, we launched it last year and unfortunately nobody saw COVID-19 coming.

“We assumed that the legislative agenda is going to be business as usual; that we shall be working as usual.

“But we have to rework it in keeping with the times we find ourselves and within a week or two, the reworked legislative agenda will be launched,” he said.

The speaker said the Police Reform Bill will be laid on the floor of the house for consideration and possible passage next week.

Gbajabimila explained that the house was sitting once a week, inline with the COVID-19 lockdown in the country.

“As leaders, we have to lead from the front in spite of the risks, the nation or an arm of government cannot be completely shutdown,” he said.

Gbajabiamila assured that transparency and accountability would be upheld in the conduct of the public hearing on the Control of Infectious Disease Bill.

He said the public hearing, which will be held in the next few weeks, would be for two days with 30 to 40 participants daily.

He said the hearing would be physical and open to submission of memorandum and position papers from members of the public who could not make it.

Mr Clement Nwankwo the convener of the group lauded the House for its efforts in curtailing the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

Mr Auwal Rafsanjani, the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) urged the house to ensure effective oversight to checkmate the allegations, regarding the sharing of Federal Government COVID-19 palliatives.

Mr Samson Itodo, Executive Director, Youth Initiative for Advocacy Growth and Advancement (YAIGA) also commended the speaker over the timely passage of the Economic Stimulus Bill.