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Nine landmark bills passed by Nigeria’s Ninth Assembly

By Ben Ezeamalu

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Posted on June 30, 2023 10:22

 © Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress protest during a rally on closure of Nigerian Universities at the National Assembly complex in Abuja, Nigeria July 27, 2022. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde
Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress protest during a rally on closure of Nigerian Universities at the National Assembly complex in Abuja, Nigeria July 27, 2022. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

Though widely regarded as a rubber stamp for the executive arm, Nigeria’s ninth National Assembly passed a number of landmark bills which are expected to transform the lives of the citizens of Africa’s most populous country.

Nigeria’s ninth National Assembly bowed out of their legislative chambers in early June, after both the senate and the House of Representatives held valedictory sessions to signal the end of their assemblies.

In the upper house, over 1,000 bills were presented on the floor of the senate out of which more than half of them were passed. Former president Muhammadu Buhari assented to 131 of them, the highest ever assent by a president since 1999. Senate president Ahmad Lawan described it as a “significant accomplishment” by the lawmakers over the past four years.

Buhari’s successor, President Bola Tinubu, assented to, at least, two more bills, upon assumption of office just before the ninth assembly wound down.

“You will agree with me that the legislation we have passed are critical and could potentially address the multitude of economic and social challenges facing Nigerians, improve

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