Reps discharge committees over delayed bills, cite breach of standing orders

The House of Representatives has discharged several standing committees of their legislative responsibilities on some bills after they failed to present reports within the timeframe prescribed by the chamber’s Standing Orders.
This followed a motion during Thursday’s plenary by the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive (APC, Delta),

It was titled “Discharge of Committees on Referrals on Bills Pursuant to Order Eighteen, Rule 11 (5) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives.”

Moving the motion, Mr Waive recalled that the affected bills had been read a second time in 2024 and referred to various committees for legislative action, but that the committees failed to present their reports within the statutory period.

He cited Order Eighteen, Rule 11 (5) of the House Standing Orders, which provides that any matter referred to a committee must be treated within 30 days.

Where a report is not submitted after 60 days, the rule states, the committee stands automatically discharged unless the House grants an extension of not more than 15 days.

Bills affected

The motion listed twelve bills affected by the latest decision as the Nigerian National Honours and Merit Award Commission Bill, 2023 – referred on 23 October 2024 to the Committee on Inter-Governmental Affairs; National Primary Education Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023 – referred on 8 May 2025 to the Committee on Basic Education and Services; Voting Rights of Nigerian Citizens Living Outside Nigeria Bill, 2023 – referred on 9 July 2024 to the Committee on Electoral Matters; and Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024 – referred on 15 May 2025 to the Committee on Electoral Matters; National Assembly Infrastructure and Property Agency (Establishment) Bill, 2025 – referred on 18 February 2025 to the Committee on House Services.

Others are the Federal Polytechnics (Amendment) Bill, 2025 – referred on 4 March 2025 to the Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education; Federal College of Nursing and Midwifery, Zaria (Establishment) Bill, 2025 – referred on 11 March 2025 to the Committee on Health Institutions; Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 – referred on 12 March 2025 to the Committee on Agricultural Colleges and Institutions; and Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 – referred on 18 March 2025 to the Committee on Livestock Development.

The Federal Medical Centres Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 – referred on 18 March 2025 to the Committee on Health Institutions. National Assembly Service Pension Board Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 – referred on 8 May 2025 to the Committee on Public Service Matters; and Petroleum Training Institute, Ibeno, Akwa Ibom State (Establishment) Bill, 2023 – referred to the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Training Fund) are also affected.

Following the adoption of the motion after the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the plenary, put the motion to a voice vote, the House resolved to discharge the affected committees and commit the bills directly to the Committee of the Whole for further consideration.

Similar action earlier in the week

The move comes two days after the House took similar action by discharging several committees of their duties over prolonged delays in considering bills referred to them.

The bills affected by Tuesday’s decision and their respective committees were the Niger Delta Development Commission Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (HB. 154) – referred on 29 February 2024 to the Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission; Factoring Assignment and Receivables Financing (Establishment) Bill, 2023 (HB. 516) – referred on 15 October 2024 to the Committee on Banking Regulations; Interpretation Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (HB. 27) – referred on 1 November 2023 to the Committee on Justice. and the Nigerian Authors Trust Fund (Establishment) Bill, 2023 (HB. 28) – referred on 18 October 2023 to the Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values.

The Poverty Alleviation and Skill Acquisition Centre (Establishment) Bill, 2023 (HB. 75) – referred on 12 December 2024 to the Committee on Poverty Alleviation. National Park Service Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023 (HB. 575) – referred on 26 November 2024 to the Committee on Environment.

National Commission for Decommissioning of Oil and Gas Installations (NC-DOGI) Bill, 2024 (HB. 1968) – referred on 5 December 2024 to the Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream); and Federal Polytechnics Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024 (HB. 2114) – referred on 4 March 2025 to the Committee on Federal Polytechnics and Higher Technical Education were also among them.

Equally affected are the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025 (HB. 2025) – referred on 14 May 2025 to the Committee on Special Duties and Aviation; and Chartered Institute of Public Health Studies (Establishment) Bill, 2023 (HB. 161) – referred on 6 June 2024 to the Committee on Health Institutions.

Earlier warning

Earlier in October, the House had issued a one-week ultimatum to all standing committees to submit reports on pending bills or risk being relieved of those assignments.

The directive was announced by the Deputy Speaker during a plenary session after a communication from Mr Waive.

Presiding over that session, Mr Kalu recalled that committees had been instructed before the last recess to turn in reports on referred bills, but that the level of compliance remained poor.

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He stressed that failure to meet the deadline would compel the House to discharge non-performing committees and forward their bills directly to the Committee of the Whole for expeditious legislative action.

The deputy speaker further urged chairpersons to take the warning seriously, noting that such delays not only slow legislative productivity but also affect the timely passage of bills that could drive national development.

With Thursday’s decision, the House reaffirmed its resolve to enforce compliance with its Standing Orders and prevent delays that have, in recent sessions, bogged down legislative business.