10th Senate processed over 1,000 bills in three years – Plang

From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity, Diket Plang, has said the 10th Senate has processed more than 1,000 bills in its first three years in office, with over 200 already signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.

Plang, who represents Plateau Central Senatorial District, said the upper chamber had also adopted several resolutions through motions and carried out extensive oversight of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), describing the period as one of the most productive in Nigeria’s legislative history.

Speaking in an interview to mark the third anniversary of the 10th Senate, the lawmaker said the chamber’s committee system had also enabled lawmakers to closely monitor government performance and budget implementation.

“At the moment, the Senate has had over 1,000 bills. About 900 have passed either second or third reading, and we have over 200 bills that have been signed into law,” he said.

“So, for me, there is a lot of achievement in terms of making laws. We have had very important motions with beautiful resolutions and sufficient oversight functions as far as the first three years of the Senate are concerned.”

“Each of the ministries, departments and agencies brings its proposals during budget defence, and you go back to find out what has been achieved and what has not been achieved. It helps us know what government has been able to do,” he said.

On the recently passed State Police Bill, Plang commended President Bola Tinubu for supporting what he described as one of Nigeria’s most difficult but necessary constitutional reforms.

He argued that creating state police would strengthen intelligence gathering because officers recruited from local communities understand the language, culture and terrain better than officers deployed from other parts of the country.

“The locals know the language, they know the terrain, they know the culture of where they are policing. Information gathering and rapid response to criminality will improve significantly,” he said.

The senator also dismissed fears that governors would abuse state police, insisting that constitutional safeguards and oversight by the National Police Council, National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly would prevent excesses.

“No governor will employ people from his community and ask them to oppress their own people. There are oversight mechanisms that will check abuse,” he said.

He explained that although the bill had passed both chambers of the National Assembly, it still requires approval by at least 24 State Houses of Assembly before it can be transmitted to the President for assent as part of the constitutional amendment process.

Plang added that the reform would improve Nigeria’s police-to-population ratio through fresh recruitment across the states while creating employment opportunities for thousands of young Nigerians.

Commenting on the recent xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa, Plang urged both governments to pursue diplomacy rather than retaliation.

He said, “It is unfortunate that brothers are turning against one another. There should be immediate engagement between the Nigerian and South African governments. Rather than retaliation, both countries should sit down and resolve these issues as brothers.”