Midterm: Confusion at Nigerian Senate as Akpabio, Bamidele contradict themselves on number of bills passed

The number of bills introduced and passed by Nigerian senators in the past two years appears to be causing confusion in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

The confusion followed two conflicting figures provided by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, as part of the midterm achievements of the chamber.

The 10th Senate was inaugurated on 13 June 2023. It comprises 109 members, with three elected from each of the 36 states and one from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

While Mr Akpabio announced during the joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday to mark the 2025 Democracy Day that 96 out of 844 bills introduced in the Senate were passed in two years, Mr Bamidele said it passed 108 out of 983 bills.

Mr Bamidele announced the figure in a statement on Sunday to commemorate the Senate’s mid-term performance.

“No fewer than 983 bills – both executive and private members- were introduced between June 13, 2023 and June 12, 2025, 108 of which were fully passed into laws within the timeframe,” the senate leader said.

However, the figures contradict those earlier presented by the senate president during the joint session of the National Assembly on Thursday to mark the 2025 Democracy Day.

“This commitment is reflected in its extraordinary output: a total of 844 bills have been introduced within its first two years—an unprecedented figure,” Mr Akpabio said.

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Constitutional mandate

Section 4 of the Nigerian Constitution empowers the two chambers of the National Assembly, the Senate and the House of Representatives, to make laws for the country’s peace, order, and good governance.

The core responsibilities of lawmakers include legislating through bills and motions, overseeing government agencies, screening and confirming presidential appointments, ratifying treaties, and addressing petitions from citizens and organisations.

However, the Senate leadership appears inconsistent and unclear about the data reflecting its official activities over the past two years.

Messrs Akpabio and Bamidele are senior lawyers before they ventured into politics. Mr Bamidele is a life bencher of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

The discrepancy highlights the inconsistency, inaccuracy, and lack of transparency in Nigeria’s legislative record-keeping.

Breakdown of figures

Unlike Mr Akpabio, who did not provide detailed data, Mr Bamidele offered a breakdown of the Senate’s activities regarding bill deliberation within the two legislative years.

“In the 2024/2025 legislative year, for instance, 506 bills were initiated in the Senate alone compared to 477 in 2023/2024. This represents a 6.07 per cent increase. Also, in the 2024/2025 legislative year, the upper chamber fully passed 83 bills into law compared to 25 in the previous legislative year.

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“This represents truly a great feat that glaringly accounts for a 232 per cent increase in the number of fully enacted legislations between 2023 and 2025. Against 13 in the 2023/2024 legislative year, the Senate dwelt with 26 executive bills in 2024/2025, invariably indicating a 100 per cent of upsurge. This record shows that 464 private member bills were initiated in 2023/2024 compared to 480 in 2024/2025.

“By 2024/2025 legislative year, 89 bills are awaiting first reading in the upper chamber as against 135 in 2024/2025; 45 awaiting second reading in 2023/2024 contrared to 230 in 2024/2025; 215 appointments were confirmed in 2023/2024 compared 116 in 2024/2025 and 50 different petitions successfully resolved in 2023/2024 with 80 duly addressed in 2024/2025,” Mr Bamidele explained.

The bills passed

Some of the bills passed, according to Mr Bamidele are the National Social Investment Programmes Act, 2023; Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024; National Minimum Wage Amendment Act, 2024; Investments and Securities Act, 2025; Regional Development Commission (Establishment) Acts, 2025 and the Tax Reform Bills, 2025, among others

The senate leader particularly emphasised the significance of the Student Loan Act, which he claimed has improved access to tertiary education and helped reduce dropout rates nationwide.

Similarly, he said the passage of the Tax Reform Bills signified the Senate’s commitment to addressing Nigeria’s fiscal challenges and restructuring the tax system to promote ease of compliance, increase investor confidence, and stimulate national economic growth.

Legislative outlook

Looking ahead, Mr Bamidele assured Nigerians that the Senate would focus on electoral reforms, judicial reforms and review of the Nigerian Constitution.

“When you know that if you contest for an election, your vote will definitely count. This assurance will make democracy more interesting for our people, enhance voters’ participation in the process and make our electoral process more credible and transparent.

“We are equally looking forward to greater judicial reforms in the next two years to ensure justice is done transparently and tenaciously. We already have various bills that seek the reforms of the judiciary. While some are seeking a review of how judges and judicial officers are appointed, others focus on their length of service and welfare.”

He also reaffirmed the Senate’s readiness to pursue judicial reforms to ensure more transparent and efficient justice delivery.