The House of Representatives has amended its Standing Orders to serve as a check on dissenting members.It has amended clause 12 to rein in would – be erring members.
Also, it has created a special committee to carry out oversight function on the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), just as it rejected another proposal to create a special committee for road safety.
The clause, as amended, denies any member suspended from the House for ‘indiscipline’ and ‘bad behaviour’ his or her benefits.
The review, checks by LEADERSHIP revealed, was done to avoid a situation where a suspended member would get a court judgment against the House, demanding the payment of his or her benefits.
Section 12 of the amended Standing Orders of the House reads, “no salary or allowance payable to a member of the House for his service as such shall be paid in respect of any period during which he is suspended from the services of the House under the provisions of these Rules and/ or of any other law.”
The original clause was, however, silent on whether a suspended member can be paid benefits or not.
It reads: “Nothing in this Rule shall be taken to deprive the House of the power of proceeding against any member according to any resolution of the House.”
LEADERSHIP gathered that the alteration of Clause 12 was meant to scare members who might be itching to take to the trenches over the jettisoning of the PDP power sharing plan as it affect the House.
The House had on June 6 ,2011, voted overwhelmingly for Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and his Deputy, Emeka Ihedioha, against a PDP plan that wanted the Speakership and Deputy Speakership slots to go to South-West and North-East respectively.
But the overriding decision to amend the Standing Order of the House, LEADERSHIP gathered, was to avoid a repeat of the Hon. Dino Melaye’s saga .
In another development, the House has decided to create a special committee to perform oversight function over the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA).
The House adopted a 17-page report by a 17-member Committee chaired by Hon. Albert Sam-Tsokwa, recommending the creation of a FERMA committee.
The committee was inaugurated by the House on Tuesday, 7th June, 2011, along with other ad hoc Committees.
The FERMA Committee is to oversee “the Federal Road Maintenance Agency(FERMA) on the execution of road maintenance and rehabilitation nation-wide; initiate policies needed for an all-year round maintenance and rehabilitation of Federal roads nation-wide; ensure that the Agency complies with the functions assigned to it by the FERMA Act, and draw up annual budget estimates.”