Folllowing several debates on the report of the Senate Committee on
Special Duties, a bill sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Ike
Ekweremadu, which will enforce that an elected President and Vice
President of Nigeria be inaugurated at the premises of the National
Assembly, was on Thursday, passed by the Senate.
According to a report by Premium Times,
the bill if agreed to by the House of Representatives and assented to
by the Executive, will enforce the inauguration of president and vice
president within the confines of the parliament as is done in the United
States and some other democracies of the world.
While reading the report, chairman of the committee, Abdul-Aziz Nyako, noted that the bill if assented to will “be a welcome development as the National Assembly represents all segments of the country.”
The senators after several debates passed the bill through a voice
vote. However, the lawmakers deleted Clause 6 of the bill which deals
with the observance of relevant prayers in places of worship before
inauguration.
The clause reads: “there shall be national prayers in the week
of the inauguration in designated places of worship in the Federal
Capital city on Friday and Sunday preceding the date of inauguration.”
The committee made amendments to Clause 8 of the bill which deals with accompanying of dignitaries at the venue of inauguration.
Senator Nyako who read the amendment, said; “the duty of
accompanying dignitaries in a ceremony is totally for ushers appointed
to serve in that capacity. Originally, we used to have senators to
escort dignitaries; the committee is of the opinion that such exercise
should be handled by the clerk of the National Assembly who shall
delegate officers to handle the assignment.”
Recall that before now, inauguration of presidents and vice
presidents of the federation takes place at the Eagles Square in the
Federal Capital Territory under the oath administered by the Chief
Justice of the Federation.