The Senate on Tuesday said the Grazing Reserve Commission Bill is not before it.
The upper legislative chamber said the clarification became necessary following concerns on the social media that the bill has passed Second Reading in the Senate.
Speaking under Order 43 of the Senate Standing Orders, which dwells on Personal Explanation, Senator Enyinaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South), said he has received over 1,000 phone calls from his constituency on the issue.
The lawmaker explained that he had made enquiries from the Clerk of the Senate and other principal officers of the National Assembly but they were in the dark on the matter.
Abaribe therefore asked the Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Babajide Omoworare, whose committee is in charge of monitoring the passage of bills before the Senate
to make clarification on the matter.
But in a press statement, Omoworare said no such bill is before the 8th Senate, adding that senators have been inundated with requests by the public concerning the National Grazing Bill.
The statement reads in part: “This is to clarify that no such bill has been presented by the Executive arm of Government and none has so far been filed by any Senator in the 8th Senate.
“For the avoidance of doubt “A National Grazing Reserve Establishment and Development Commission Bill” (SB. 60) was presented by Senator Zaynab Kure (Niger Central) during the 7th Senate (2011 to 2015) which has now expired by the operations of law on the 6th June 2015 in furtherance of Section 64(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended)”.
As news of the proposed legislation went viral on social media, the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Ben Murray-Bruce (PDP, Bayelsa East) took to his Facebook page and posted: “Count me out of any Grazing Commission Bill!”.
According to report on the social media, the bill creates a Grazing Reserve Commission to be chaired by a Chairman appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
The Commission, according to the report, shall have the power to take lands anywhere in Nigeria and pay compensation to the owners.
However, aggrieved land owners will have to get the consent of the Attorney General of the Federation before instituting a lawsuit against the Commission.
Meanwhile, Senate President Bukola Saraki presided over plenary for 30 minutes on Tuesday before proceeding to the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to face trial for alleged falsification of assets.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who took over plenary from Saraki, announced that Service Chiefs will brief Senate in closed door session by 1pm tomorrow on the abduction of over 200 Chibok girls.
