By George Mgbeleke <\/p>\n
The Senate on Wednesday debated a motion by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele seeking to preserve the institutional authority of the upper chamber, ensure compliance with the Legislative Houses\u2019 Powers and Privileges Act, and safeguard fair hearing, due process, and parliamentary impartiality in oversight proceedings.<\/p>\n
Bamidele told his colleagues that Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution confer investigative and oversight powers on the National Assembly and its committees for lawmaking, accountability, transparency, and good governance. <\/p>\n
He added that the Legislative Houses\u2019 Powers and Privileges Act, Laws of the Federation 2004, provides the legal framework for compelling witness attendance.<\/p>\n
He noted that Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Act specifically vest authority to issue warrants compelling witness attendance on the presiding officer of the House, which in the Senate is the President of the Senate, not on committees acting independently.<\/p>\n
The motion was prompted by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts\u2019 reported resolution to issue or recommend a warrant of arrest against Mele Kyari, former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, over alleged failure to honour committee invitations.<\/p>\n
Bamidele also drew attention to comments attributed to Senator Adams Oshiomhole during deliberations, describing NNPC Limited as \u201ca bunch of criminals and thieves.\u201d He said such remarks could convey criminal culpability before any lawful investigation or court determination.<\/p>\n
The Senate Leader stressed that as an institution created by the Constitution, the Senate must at all times conduct proceedings according to natural justice, fairness, objectivity, parliamentary decorum, and respect for the rule of law.<\/p>\n
He argued that while the Senate has extensive oversight powers, they must not create the appearance of bias, prejudice, or predetermined conclusions about any person or institution under investigation.<\/p>\n
Bamidele reminded the chamber that NNPC Limited, incorporated under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, remains a strategic national energy institution in which the Federation holds ownership interest on behalf of Nigerians.<\/p>\n
He warned that unclarified statements could be misconstrued as the Senate\u2019s official position and undermine public confidence in the impartiality of ongoing oversight involving NNPCL and its former management.<\/p>\n
The motion noted that the power to issue a warrant affecting a citizen\u2019s liberty is extraordinary and must be exercised strictly according to law. Legislative investigations, he said, are meant to aid oversight and lawmaking, not substitute criminal prosecution or judicial determination.<\/p>\n
Bamidele observed that compliance with due process strengthens rather than weakens the Senate\u2019s authority, dignity, and credibility. <\/p>\n
He expressed concern that committees issuing warrants independently could expose proceedings to avoidable legal challenges and diminish public confidence.<\/p>\n
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and Senators Tahir Monguno, Abba Moro, Adamu Aliero, and Orji Uzor Kalu backed the motion. <\/p>\n
They stressed that committees must follow constitutional provisions and Senate rules, and that public statements must not prejudice investigations or damage NNPCL’s reputation and Nigeria\u2019s investment climate.<\/p>\n
Senator Adams Oshiomhole defended his remarks, saying he acted under provocation after NNPCL officials allegedly attacked the integrity of senators and claimed over \u20a6210 trillion was unaccounted for according to NNPC-appointed auditors. <\/p>\n
He insisted he did not move the warrant motion and acknowledged only the Senate President could issue warrants.<\/p>\n
After debate, the Senate resolved that warrant-issuing authority rests exclusively with the Senate President, no committee shall issue warrants without his approval, and the Senate dissociates itself from Oshiomhole\u2019s \u201ccriminals and thieves\u201d comment. <\/p>\n
It also reaffirmed fair hearing and presumption of innocence, urged restraint in public statements, directed strict adherence to the Constitution and the Act, and discountenanced the Public Accounts Committee\u2019s purported warrant against Kyari dated June 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
The chamber further adopted additional prayers urging all persons appearing before Senate committees to conduct themselves with respect, and called for further examination of issues connected with the alleged \u20a6210 trillion unaccounted funds.<\/p>\n
In his remarks,Senate President Godswill Akpabio directed a meeting with the Public Accounts Committee next week to address the matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke The Senate on Wednesday debated a motion by Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele seeking to preserve the institutional authority of the upper chamber, ensure compliance with the Legislative Houses\u2019 Powers and Privileges Act, and safeguard fair hearing, due process, and parliamentary impartiality in oversight proceedings. Bamidele told his colleagues that Sections 88 and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14520,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14519\/revisions\/14520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}