The Senate on Wednesday blocked a motion sponsored by the Labour Party Senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, Ireti Kingibe, seeking to halt demolitions, land revocations, reallocations and alterations affecting designated green areas in Abuja.
The motion, raised under Orders 41 and 51 of the Senate Standing Rules as a matter of urgent public importance, called on the Senate to compel the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and the Federal Capital Development Authority to suspend all such actions pending a comprehensive audit and compliance review of the Abuja Master Plan.
Senator Kingibe also raised concerns over what she described as a worsening waste and sewage management situation in the FCT, alleging widespread failure in municipal waste collection across several districts, with refuse left uncollected for weeks, posing public health risks.
She further alleged that waste management and sewage workers under the Abuja Environmental Protection Board and other FCT agencies had not been paid salaries for several months, leading to prolonged industrial action and disruption of essential services.
Embedded in the motion were claims that demolitions and land revocations had continued even in cases already before the courts, a development the Senator said undermined the rule of law and judicial authority.
However, the motion was opposed by the Senate leadership on procedural grounds.
Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, ruled that the motion failed to meet the requirements for urgency, describing it as defective and too broad to qualify under the relevant rules.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, also faulted the motion, stating that it lacked focus and combined multiple unrelated issues, including land administration, demolitions, workers’ welfare and waste management, making it procedurally inadmissible.
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, advised Senator Kingibe to withdraw the motion and refile it as a substantive motion, noting that matters of urgent public importance must be narrowly defined and time-sensitive.
Although some Senators attempted to defend the motion, the Senate President maintained that it amounted to a broad probe of the entire FCT administration, which could not be entertained under the cited rules.
Senator Kingibe was eventually advised to withdraw the motion and resubmit a narrower substantive motion focused strictly on waste management. She later complied following appeals from colleagues to ease tension in the chamber.
(Editor: Ada Ononye)
