Senate to Amend Its Standing Rules Next Week

•Mourns ex-Senate President Wayas

Deji Elumoye and Juliet Akoje
in Abuja

The Senate has finalised plans to amend its over six-year old Standing Rules by next week for better running of the legislative arm.

This is as the Red Chamber, yesterday, mourned the Second Republic Senate President, Dr Joseph Wayas, describing him as a stabiliser of the relationship between executive and legislature from 1979 to 1983.

At yesterday’s plenary, President of the Senate, Dr Ahmad Lawan, disclosed that the chamber would next Tuesday amend the 2015 Senate Standing Orders.

According to him, the decision to amend the Senate Rules was to ensure an improvement to enable the chamber run itself better.

He said, “The copies of the proposal will be distributed today (Wednesday), and the idea isfor all of us to study between now and Monday, and on Tuesday, we will look into the amendments proposed.

So, if any of us has any idea of an additional thing or suggestion on what has been introduced, by Tuesday, we should be able to have our position.

“It is inevitable that the standing orders as they are today have to be amended for us to be up-to-date with everything that we do here.”

However, extolling Wayas, the Senate President said his Second Republic predecessor ensured harmony between the executive and legislature, when he held sway between 1979 and 1983.

Lawan disclosed this while paying tribute to the deceased following the consideration of a motion brought to the floor by the Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi.

“Let me join our colleagues, who made remarks over the death of Senator Joseph Wayas, the third President of the Senate in the second republic. Senator Joseph Wayas as a presiding officer, President of the Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly, brought peace, productivity and proficiency in the legislature then.

“[And] of course, they had a very good working relationship between the two major arms of government (legislature and executive). Even though they had a House of Representatives that was presided over by another political party, he was able to manage the Senate and the House of Representatives in such a manner that there was productivity and high turnout of legislative interventions that made the executive arm of government at the time to function.

“For us, we have lessons to learn from his skills in running the affairs of the National Assembly then and the Senate, in particular. We have been managing ourselves here, in the way and manner that President of the Senate, Joseph Wayas, ran the Senate in 1979 to 1983.I believe that he had a decent life, and was not a controversial person and very open minded like all of us said.”

Earlier, Abdullahi, while coming under order 42 and 52, noted “with shock the demise of Senator Joseph Wayas, Former Senate President of Nigeria in the Second Republic who died on Tuesday, 30th November, 2021 at the age of 80.

Contributing, Senator James Manager (Delta South) described the deceased as a man of dignity and a committed Nigerian who loved his people and the nation, and was role model to younger generation leaders.

On her part, Senator Biodun Olujimi, described the late Joseph Wayas as a “quintessential gentleman” who was detribalized in his approach to issues of governance.

Accordingly, the Senate observed a Minute Silence in his honour and also resolved to work with the government of Cross Rivers State and to fully participate in his Burial.