From TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt
Former member of the House of Representatives in the Ninth National Assembly, Dagogo Farah, has debunked claims that the bill for establishment of Federal Medical Centre, Bonny, Rivers State, did not get Senate Concurrence in the last National Assembly.
Farah’s successor and Member Representing Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Cyril Hart, had erroneously insisted, after re-presenting the bill on the floor of the House, that the bill did not get Senate’s approval in the ninth Assembly despite being passed by the House of Representatives.
Refuting the claim in a statement, Farah clarified that the bill followed all legislative steps and was subsequently approved and passed into law by the Senate on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, for concurrence.
He said: “The businesses of the National Assembly, be it Senate or House of Representatives, are properly recorded and could easily be verified at any time.
“Government is a continuum and as representatives of the people, the whole idea is to pursue policies that would be beneficial to the people at all times.
“It is quite unfortunate and sad when we attempt to rewrite history or events with falsehood with the sole aim of gaining unwarranted platitudes.
“Contrary to the erroneous statement of the member Representing Degema/Bonny Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Cyril Hart, that failure to get Senate Concurrence on the Federal Medical Centre bill was the reason the bill was not transmitted to the President for assent. That was completely untrue as the Senate actually passed it into law.
“The statement was done in bad taste and a woeful move to present his predecessor as one who does not understand the plurality of law passages in both Chambers of the National Assembly. A little research would have prevented such embarrassing statement.
“The bill for the Federal Medical Centre, Bonny, was the first bill and one of the flagship bills presented by Dagogo D. Farah. The bill was passed on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday, January 18, 2023.”
Farah explained further: “This passage was in concurrence with the one earlier passed on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.
“The bill for the creation of pioneer STEAM ( Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) Polytechnic in Tombia, Rivers State was also given concurrence having earlier being passed into law by the House of Representatives.
“On the issue of transmission to the President for assent, Hon. Cyril Hart has been in the National Assembly for more than a year and should be conversant with how bills operate. At a stage in the point of bills, especially those already passed into law by both Senate and House of Representatives, it becomes the property of the National Assembly.
“As at that period, the National Assembly, through its leadership, are responsible for its transmission to the President.”