By Seun Ibiyemi
The Senate has recommended budgetary and other sanctions against Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that fail to implement resolutions passed by the upper legislative chamber, citing persistent disregard for legislative directives by several government institutions.
The resolution followed the adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Legislative Compliance, which reviewed the implementation of Senate resolutions between July 2023 and December 2025.
Presenting the report during plenary, Chairman of the Committee, Senator Garba Maidoki, said the panel examined 27 referrals arising from Senate motions and committee reports within the review period and found widespread non-compliance by several government agencies.
According to Maidoki, many MDAs either delayed the implementation of Senate resolutions or ignored them entirely, while others failed to submit compliance reports despite repeated requests from the committee.
“The implementation of Senate resolutions is often delayed and sometimes ignored,” he said.
He noted that although the Executive is responsible for implementing Senate resolutions, many agencies had failed to cooperate with the committee, thereby weakening the National Assembly’s constitutional oversight functions.
The committee also observed that some resolutions, particularly those relating to road rehabilitation and disaster management, could not be implemented because the affected projects were not captured in the annual budget.
Maidoki further cited the unresolved case of Eromonsele Omhonria, a child allegedly shot in the eye by an officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), stating that the agency had yet to secure funding for the victim’s medical treatment abroad.
“The Attorney-General and the Office of the Minister of Finance have not been able to make any headway in retrieving this compensation,” he said.
The committee also faulted some agencies for failing to comply with Senate resolutions directing the reinstatement of disengaged workers.
It specifically cited the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) for failing to reinstate a former employee, Engr. Paddy Ukpe, despite repeated interventions by the Senate.
“Most of these MDAs, when they conclude their assignment, refer the final recommendation to the Head of Service. Unfortunately, none of the recommendations sent to the Head of Service has ever received a response,” Maidoki stated.
He added that similar compliance challenges had also been recorded with the Nigerian Army regarding the reinstatement of affected officers.
The committee identified other obstacles to compliance, including inadequate statutory powers available to some agencies, poor investigation before the introduction of some motions, and the inclusion of multiple recommendations in a single motion, making implementation difficult.
To strengthen legislative oversight, the committee recommended the imposition of budgetary and other sanctions on agencies that fail to comply with or respond to Senate resolutions.
The affected institutions include the Federal Ministries of Works, Health, Power, Petroleum Resources, Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Information, Environment and Solid Minerals Development, as well as the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Ecological Fund Office, Nigerian Railway Corporation, NDLEA, Federal Civil Service Commission and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
The panel also recommended that resolutions delayed due to funding constraints should automatically be accommodated in the following fiscal year’s budget through the National Assembly’s Appropriations Committee.
It further urged MDAs facing funding challenges to channel their requests through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), while calling on the Executive to direct the NDLEA to seek alternative funding for Omhonria’s treatment and compel the Nigerian Railway Corporation and other affected agencies to reinstate disengaged workers and pay all outstanding entitlements.
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The Senate unanimously adopted the committee’s recommendations.
Speaking after the adoption, Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the report as a landmark document, noting that it was the first comprehensive legislative compliance report presented to the Senate since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999.
“The Committee on Legislative Compliance since 1999 has never submitted this kind of report,” Akpabio said.
He urged lawmakers to study the report and utilise its recommendations to strengthen legislative oversight, enhance accountability and ensure greater compliance by government agencies with resolutions passed by the Senate.
