The House of Representatives Joint Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements, and Petroleum Resources (Upstream), on Tuesday, threatened to take action against oil companies whose managing directors failed to appear before it.
The joint committee is currently holding a public hearing on the “holistic review of all agreements entered into between oil companies and their host communities”, especially in the Niger Delta region.
The chairman of the lead committee, Rep. Ossai Nicholas Ossai (PDP, Delta), made the threats while reacting to the incidence of almost all the chief executives of the oil firms invited sending middle-level staff as representatives.
At plenary, A bill to alter the constitution to extend constitutional immunity to Presiding Officers of the Legislature narrowly scaled through second reading on the floor of the House of Representatives.
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But Speaker of the House, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila dissociated himself from the content of the bill saying when passed it should take effect from 2023 when the tenure of the current presiding officers would have expired.
Some members who spoke in favour of the bill, including House Leader, Rep Ado Doguwa said the bill was not about individuals, but about the institution of the parliament.
The bill seeks to amend section 308 of the constitution to grant immunity to presiding officer of the state and National Assembly.
The lower legislative chamber passed the constitutional amendment bill for second reading at Tuesday’s plenary session.
Some of the lawmakers argued that the bill is not necessary, while others said it is needed to protect the legislative arm from “persecution”.
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