Senate Passes Bill To Enact Arbitration And Mediation Act, Three Others For Concurrence

 Abuja – The Senate, on Tuesday, passed a bill to enact the Arbitration and Mediation Act to provide for a unified legal framework for the settlement of commercial disputes.

Also passed were there other bills for concurrence from the House of Representatives by the chamber after a clause-by-clause consideration by the Committee of the Whole.

The bills include: Federal Medical Centre Ogoja, Cross-River State (Establishment) Bill, 2022; Federal Medical Centre Igboora, Oyo State (Establishment) Bill, 2021; and Advertising Regulatory Council Bill, 2022.

The four bills for concurrence were sponsored by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North). 
The Senate Leader, in his lead debate, said that the Arbitration and Mediation Act, 2022, seeks to repeal the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, Cap A18, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

He disclosed that the piece of legislation recognizes and enforces the New York convention on foreign arbitration awards to any award made in Nigeria or in any contracting state arising out of international commercial arbitration.

He added that it also seeks the application of the Singapore convention on the international settlement agreements resulting from mediation. 
The four bills for concurrence were passed by the Senate after a clause-by-clause consideration by the Committee of the Whole.

Meanwhile, a bill to repeal the National Secondary Education Commission Act, Tuesday, scaled second reading in the Senate.

The bill seeks to enact the National Senior Secondary Education Act, 2022, to prescribe minimum standards for senior secondary education in Nigeria. 

Sponsor of the bill, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, I’m his lead debate on the general principles, said the bill makes provision for the management of the National Senior Secondary Education Commission Fund – as a source of government intervention towards repositioning Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria. 

The bill after consideration was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary) for further legislative work. 

The Committee was given four weeks to report back to the chamber in plenary.