ABUJA — The Senate has urged journalists covering parliamentary proceedings to deepen public understanding of its Standing Orders, stressing that ignorance of the rules often fuels unnecessary controversies around legislative actions.
Speaking on Wednesday at a one-day capacity-building workshop for members of the Senate Press Corps, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu (APC, Ekiti South), emphasized that journalists must be as knowledgeable as lawmakers about parliamentary rules in order to properly inform Nigerians.
Adaramodu pointed to Section 6(1) of the Senate Standing Rules, which empowers the Senate President to allocate and re-allocate seats to senators whenever necessary, as one of the provisions Nigerians need better awareness of.
Citing the crisis involving Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central) earlier in February, he said disobedience to simple rules — such as sitting in an unassigned seat — could spark avoidable tension.
“If you are supposed to sit on seat number 10 and you go and sit on seat number 13, you will not be recognized by the President of the Senate. If the affected person insists on being recognized, ‘katakata’ will surely come up,” Adaramodu explained.
He further stressed that seat allocations are not permanent, underscoring the Senate President’s constitutional mandate to re-assign them at any time.
“The National Assembly is not a banana republic where there are no laws. Our laws must be obeyed by us and understood by Nigerians who are to be educated on them by those of you covering the Senate,” he said.
Adaramodu charged parliamentary reporters to go beyond surface-level reporting by equipping themselves with in-depth knowledge of the Standing Orders to ensure Nigerians receive accurate information about legislative proceedings.
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