As the 10th National Assembly enters its second half, the Nigerian Senate has reaffirmed its commitment to driving major reforms across the country’s democratic, legal, and fiscal systems — with a key focus on electoral reform, constitutional review, and judicial transformation.
Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, made the disclosure on Sunday in a statement marking the legislature’s midterm performance and laying out its agenda for the next two years.
According to Bamidele, “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.”
He also underscored the Senate’s determination to overhaul Nigeria’s electoral system, ensuring integrity in future elections and greater citizen confidence in the process.
“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,” Bamidele stated.
The 10th National Assembly, inaugurated on June 13, 2023, with Senator Godswill Akpabio and Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas emerging as Senate President and Speaker of the House respectively, has undergone what Bamidele described as “strategic legislative engagement” in its first half.
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He highlighted the Senate’s legislative productivity, revealing significant progress in bill passage and executive engagement.
“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 per cent 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 per cent increase in the number of fully enacted legislations between 2023 and 2025. As against 13 in the 2023/2024 legislative year, the Senate dealt with 26 executive bills in 2024/2025, invariably indicating a 100 per cent upsurge. This record shows that 464 private member bills were initiated in 2023/2024 compared to 480 in 2024/2025,” he explained.
Among the legislative achievements cited was the passage of the Tax Reform Bills, which Bamidele said demonstrated the Senate’s commitment to resolving Nigeria’s fiscal bottlenecks and stimulating broad-based economic growth.
He noted, “The bills will carry out far-reaching reforms that would eliminate structural inefficiencies in the country’s tax administration; simplify tax obligations for businesses and citizens; boost investors’ confidence in the domestic economy and catalyse monumental growth across all sectors.”
As the 2027 general elections draw nearer, the Senate’s reform agenda signals a pivotal effort to restore public trust in democratic institutions, strengthen the rule of law, and revamp the nation’s governance framework.
