The Senate on Tuesday passed the Nigerian Port Economic Regulatory Agency Bill, 2026 during plenary in Abuja.
The passage followed a motion moved by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central), and seconded by the Minority Leader, Abba Moro (Benue South).
Prior to its consideration, the lawmakers rescinded their earlier decision on the bill, which had previously been passed and transmitted to the President for assent.
At the Committee of the Whole, Bamidele explained that a critical review by the Ministry of Justice identified fundamental issues requiring fresh legislative action.
He said a technical committee comprising members of the Senate, House of Representatives and legal drafting experts from the Directorate of Legal Services was constituted to address the concerns.
According to him, the committee was mandated to resolve the issues raised after detailed scrutiny of the bill and recommend necessary corrections for legislative reconsideration.
Relying on Orders 1(b) and 52(6) of the Senate Standing Orders, the lawmakers rescinded the earlier passage of the bill and recommitted it to the Committee of the Whole for comprehensive review.
The bill was subsequently considered clause by clause and passed after exhaustive deliberation.
In a related development, the Senate also passed the National Food Reserve Agency (Establishment) Bill, 2026, the National Cassava Policy Coordination Council Bill, and the National Rice Development Council of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill, 2026.
The three bills were passed following the consideration of a report by the Senate Committee on Agricultural Production, Services and Rural Development, chaired by Saliu Mustapha (Kwara Central).
Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded a list of 15 nominees for the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), chaired by Salamatu Suleiman, to the Senate for confirmation.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, referred the nominees to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, directing it to report back within two weeks.
