senate

The Digest: The Senate has confirmed Muttaqha Rabe Darma as a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. His confirmation followed a screening session with questions and answers. President Bola Tinubu had earlier written to the Senate seeking Darma's screening and confirmation. Senate...

The Digest: President Bola Tinubu has sought Senate approval for a $516,333,007 million loan from Deutsche Bank to fund sections of the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway, a 1,000km flagship project linking Nigeria's Northwest to the Southwest. The highway will run from Illela in Sokoto through...

The Digest: The Senate Public Accounts Committee has given the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) until April 29 to appear and account for N210 trillion flagged in audit reports from 2017 to 2023. The committee directed current GCEO Bayo Ojulari and former GCEO Mele Kyari to...

The Digest: Former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has declared his intention to contest the Delta North senatorial seat in the 2027 general election under the All Progressives Congress (APC). Speaking at his residence in Asaba during a visit by political leaders, Okowa accepted a motion...

The Digest: The Senate has passed the 2026 budget after adding President Bola Tinubu's N9.3 trillion request, bringing the total figure to N68.323 trillion. The upper chamber also increased the budget by an additional N623 billion beyond the president's request. The budget was approved by...

The Digest: The Nigerian Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu's request for external loans totaling $6 billion, just hours after the President's letter was read on the floor. The approval followed the presentation and consideration of a report by the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign...

The Digest: President Bola Tinubu has written to the Senate seeking approval to borrow $5 billion from Abu Dhabi Bank to cover the budget deficit and debt financing. In a separate letter, the President is also seeking approval for a $1 billion UK Export Finance loan facility from London Citi...

The Digest: The Senate has confirmed the appointment of Taiwo Oyedele as a minister-designate under President Bola Tinubu's administration. Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the confirmation after lawmakers cleared the nominee through a voice vote at the Committee of the Whole...

The Digest: The Senate has summoned former NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari, along with two other officials, over an alleged N210 trillion expenditure by the national oil company between 2017 and 2023 that lawmakers say has not been properly accounted for. Senator Aliyu Wadada...

The Digest: The Senate has committed to completing the constitutional amendment for the establishment of state police before the end of 2026. Senate spokesperson Yemi Adaramodu told Sunday PUNCH that work on the constitutional review will resume immediately when plenary reconvenes next week...

The Digest: The Senate has queried the federal government's economic team over persistent poor budget implementation, particularly the low release of capital votes to MDAs. During an interactive session chaired by Senator Solomon Adeola, lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction with explanations...

The Digest: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the Senate's insertion of a manual transmission fallback clause in the Electoral Act amendment, describing it as an "escape clause" that threatens the credibility of the 2027 general elections. In a statement by National Publicity...

The Digest: Senate President Godswill Akpabio has described the Court of Appeal judgment upholding the suspension of Senator Natasha Apoti-Uduaghan as a consequential affirmation of Nigeria's constitutional separation of powers. In a statement by his spokesman, Eseme Eyiboh, Akpabio stated the...

The Digest: President Bola Tinubu has formally requested the Senate to confirm the appointment of Usman Isa Dakingari as a non-career ambassador. The request was conveyed in a letter read during Tuesday's plenary by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. This follows a recent controversy where the...

The Digest: The Senate has reversed its earlier stance and amended the Electoral Act to allow for the electronic transmission of election results, with the critical caveat that manual collation using Form EC8A serves as the primary backup in the event of network failure. The amendment, passed...

The Digest: The Senate has appointed a 12-member committee to work with the House of Representatives on harmonising the contentious Electoral Act Amendment Bill. Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the committee during an emergency plenary session, with members including Senators Orji...

The Digest: The Senate has convened an emergency plenary session to address the contentious amendments to the Electoral Act, presided over by Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The session occurs as the "#OccupyNASS" protest continues outside the National Assembly complex, with demonstrators...

The Digest: The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened mass action or an election boycott if the Senate fails to mandate real-time electronic transmission of election results in its amended Electoral Act. This comes as the Senate announced an emergency plenary on Tuesday to address the...

The Digest: Former Education Minister Obiageli Ezekwesili has called on the Senate to reverse its recent decision and adopt a clause mandating real-time electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act amendment. In a statement, Ezekwesili warned lawmakers against “playing with...

The Digest: The Nigerian Senate has passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill following a five-hour clause-by-clause deliberation on Wednesday. Among the key changes, lawmakers reduced the required notice period for elections from 360 to 180 days. The Senate retained the existing provision on...