An Era Ends At Lagos House, Passes 6 Bills Into Law

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The 40 lawmakers at the Lagos State House of Assembly today sat to mark the end of the sixth legislative Assembly in the state.

The seventh Assembly commences with the inauguration and swearing of oath of the newly elected 18 members of the House and the 22 returning lawmakers on Saturday.

Today’s sitting saw the passing of six pending bills for the governor’s assent in order to make them law.

The bills include the Auditor-General Bill, the Lagos Safety Commission Bill and Lagos State Emergency Management Agency Bill.

Others include the Administration of Criminal Justice (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill, the Customary Court Bill and the Criminal Law of Lagos Bill.

These bills were heard for the third time on Tuesday with the promise that they would be passed into law.

The Lagos Safety Commission Bill has the sole aim of ensuring the safety of lives and property in the state.

The bill which has 15 sections, would set up a commission that would ensure strict compliance with safety standards by both government and privately owned firms.

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According to Avoseh Hodewu, the lawmaker whose committee oversees the handling of the bill, during the public hearing on the bill, the Safety Commission Bill would regulate the safety activities of organisations and bodies in the state.

Some weak areas of the bill which include its silence on enforcement, have been considered and strengthened, P.M.NEWS learnt this morning.

One of the major reasons for the amendment of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, is to mandate some courts to sentence accused persons to rehabilitation and correctional centres in order to decongest prisons in the state. Some of the accused persons can serve their terms doing community services rather than go to jail.

The House was however silent on the non-passage of the Coroner Bill, an Executive bill, sent to the House in 2008.

As harmless as this bill seems, it has generated passion among Lagosians who have remained anxious. But the bill has always suffered at the floor of the House as it has been stepped down several times.

The bill, which intends to make it mandatory for the investigation of deaths that occur under unusual circumstances and determining the cause of death through autopsy, has suffered due to religious consideration since it is forbidden to keep a corpse for too long according to Islamic doctrine.

—Eromosele Ebhomele

 

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