Tax reform bills, minimum wage, student’s loan, others top list
By James Adamu
The Senate released its midterm report on Sunday, disclosing that it introduced 983 bills since June 13, 2023 when the 10th National Assembly was inaugurated.
Out of the figure, 108 have been passed into laws or Acts of the National Assembly, according to the Leader of the Senate, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele.
The 10th National Assembly, comprising the Senate and House of Representatives, was inaugurated on June 13, 2023 following the election of Senator Godswill Akpabio as the President of the Senate and Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The election of the presiding officers also produced Senator Barau I. Jubrin as the Deputy President of the Senate and Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu as the Deputy Speaker House of Representatives, among others.
.A statement issued by the leader’s office in Abuja on Sunday explained how the Senate “leveraged the instrument of strategic engagement” to pass some of the bills, which it said helped to stabilise Nigeria’s political and economic plans.
The leader noted, “In the 2024/2025 legislative year, for instance, 506 bills were initiated in the Senate alone compared to 477 in 2023/2024. This represents a 6.07% increase. Also, in the 2024/2025 legislative year, the upper chamber fully passed 83 bills into law compared to 25 in the previous legislative year.
“This represents truly a great feat that glaringly accounts for a 232% increase in the number of fully enacted legislations between 2023 and 2025. Against 13 in the 2023/2024 legislative year, the Senate dwelt with 26 executive bills in 2024/2025, invariably indicating a 100% upsurge. This record shows that 464 private member bills were initiated in 2023/2024 compared to 480 in 2024/2025.
“By 2024/2025 legislative year, 89 bills are awaiting first reading in the upper chamber as against 135 in 2024/2025; 45 awaiting second reading in 2023/2024 contrasted to 230 in 2024/2025; 215 appointments were confirmed in 2023/2024 compared 116 in 2024/2025 and 50 different petitions successfully resolved in 2023/2024 with 80 duly addressed in 2024/2025.”
Top on the list of the 108 bills passed into law were the National Social Investment Programmes Act, 2023; Student Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024; National Minimum Wage Amendment Act, 2024; Investments and Securities Act, 2025; Regional Development Commission (Establishment) Acts, 2025; and the Tax Reform Bills, 2025.
On the significance of the Student’s Loan (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024, Bamidele said it redefined access to tertiary education and significantly reduced the number of dropouts across the federation, owning to inability to pay for higher education.
Referencing the dashboard of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the leader pointed out that 1,094,057 students had applied for the scheme, saying of this figure, 563, 279 institutional loans were granted while 530,773 upkeep loans were processed.
He argued that without Legislature-Executive collaboration, the student’s loan scheme would not have materialised till date.
Bamidele also cited the case of the tax reform bills, 2025, describing their passage as a testament to the resolve of the 10th National Assembly to end the country’s fiscal challenge and carry out far-reaching reforms that would eliminate structural inefficiencies in the country’s tax administration.
He said other advantages were that the bills would simplify tax obligations for businesses and citizens, boost investors’ confidence in the domestic economy and catalyse improved growth across all sectors of the economy.
He assured Nigerians to look forward to the reforms of the country’s electoral system, review of the 1999 Constitution as well as the reforms of the judiciary, among others, as key priority areas in the second half of the life of the 10th Senate.
The Senate leader further stated that the lawmakers would prioritise reforms of the country’s electoral regime “to ensure every vote continues to count; guarantee good governance in the country and make participation in our electoral process more interesting for the decent and innocent citizens.”
He added, “When you know that if you contest for an election, your vote will definitely count. This assurance will make democracy more interesting for our people, enhance voters’ participation in the process and make our electoral process more credible and transparent.
“We are equally looking forward to greater judicial reforms in the next two years to ensure justice is done transparently and tenaciously. We already have various bills that seek the reforms of the judiciary. While some are seeking a review of how judges and judicial officers are appointed, others focus on their length of service and welfare.”
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