SPEAKER of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, on Wednesday, August 14, strongly defended the controversial Counter Subversion Bill before bowing to Nigerians who boldly rejected the bill.
Abbas suspended the bill hours after advancing strong arguments on the need to pass it into law.
He explained that the clarification on the bill, which he sponsored, was important due to the ‘misconceptions’ that had trailed it.
His explanations were contained in a statement signed and made available to journalists by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Krishi.
The statement followed the backlash the bill had received from the public since it was introduced at the House.
The Speaker said he appreciated the interest Nigerians showed in the bill.
He stated that the Counter Subversion Bill, 2024 (HB. 1652) was introduced on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, thus, the bill was still at the introductory stage.
He added that the bill fell within the realm of Nigeria’s anti-terrorism framework, and sought to address subversive activities by associations, organisations, militias, cults, bandits, and other proscribed groups in Nigeria.
“Similar legislation obtains in other climes with varied appellations. Such countries include the United Kingdom, Spain, India, Turkey, Canada, and Australia, among others.
“The Speaker, and by extension the House of Representatives, which is the People’s House, welcome robust engagements and discussions from Nigerians on the contents of the Bill, and how best to address the concerns raised,” Abbas stated.
He added that the committee working on the bill must invite Nigerians, particularly relevant stakeholders, to a public hearing on the bill.
According to him, the inputs from the public would form the basis for the committee’s report, to be laid on the floor of the House.
“After the consideration of the report, the bill will be passed for the third reading and forwarded to the Senate for concurrence. If the Senate deems it fit and concurs with the bill, a clean copy would be transmitted to the President for assent. Mr. President reserves the right to withhold assent to the bill,” the statement added.
Abbas assured that the bill, and any other draft legislation before the House, would pass through all the legislative processes, and Nigerians would have ample opportunity to make their inputs.
The news of the bill has been trending on major social media platforms.
Commenting on the issue, a former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, in a tweet on her X handle described the bill as “A silly flight of fancy that further reveals how unserious and irrelevant the lawmakers are to the Nigerian condition.”
Similarly, an X user with the handle @jubshittu posted, “The #CounterSubversionBill has no place in Nigeria’s democracy. Our lawmakers have much better use of their time if Nigeria is to become a trillion-dollar economy. I’ll gladly join in the fight against this bill.”
The ICIR reported that Abbas later withdrew the controversial Counter Subversion and Other Related Bills.
He announced the withdrawal through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Krishi on Wednesday.
He acknowledged the significance of the concerns raised and the attention the bill had garnered across the country and beyond. He also reaffirmed that he would never support any action that might disrupt Nigeria’s peace and unity.
Discussions on the Counter Subversion Bill became very intense after a ten-day protest tagged #EndBadGovernance that almost grounded the nation.
The ICIR reported that insecurity, inflation and a hike in the cost of living among others pushed many Nigerians to stage the protest.
Tinubu had stopped fuel subsidies and devalued the local currency – the naira – thus causing a spiral hike in food and commodity prices and making life unbearing for many citizens.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance