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The Senate on Tuesday stepped down the Agricultural Revolution Bill, 2026, sponsored by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, following complaints about its content and the failure to give printed copies to lawmakers.
The bill, SB. 1082, seeks to create a legal framework to improve and modernise agriculture in Nigeria.
The disagreement started during debate on the bill’s second reading. Some senators questioned how well it was written and whether it followed the Senate’s rules on sharing bills with lawmakers.
The Senate Leader, Senator Mohammed Monguno, moved the motion for the second reading on behalf of Barau.
Presenting the bill, Monguno said Nigeria needed a clear plan to tackle food shortages, low farm output and other problems facing agriculture.
He noted that millions of Nigerians depend on farming for their livelihoods. However, farmers still face several challenges, including poor access to modern equipment, inadequate irrigation, insecurity, expensive loans and food waste after harvest.
“These challenges have resulted in food insecurity, inflation and increased poverty in the country. There is urgent need to move from piecemeal interventions to a coordinated, sustainable legal framework for agricultural transformation,” Monguno said.
He explained that the bill aimed to move Nigeria away from small-scale farming towards modern agriculture supported by technology and large-scale investment.
It also seeks to promote the use of farm machinery, improved seeds, research, irrigation and better support for farmers.
Other areas covered by the proposed law include storage facilities, cold rooms, food processing and better access to markets.
Senator Muhammad Aliero, who represents Kebbi Central, supported the bill. He described agriculture as an important sector for diversifying Nigeria’s economy.
However, Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central, questioned the quality of the bill.
Although he described its objectives as “excellent, fantastic and timeous”, he argued that the document was not properly developed.
Ningi said the bill looked more like a motion than a complete piece of legislation and urged its sponsors to improve it before presenting it again.
He said Nigerian farmers produce between two and three tonnes of crops per hectare, compared with eight to 10 tonnes in some other countries.
He added that better farm equipment, research and farming methods were needed to increase production.
Ningi also praised the Nigerian Government’s agreement to import agricultural machinery from Brazil but questioned whether the bill clearly explained how existing agricultural agencies would be involved.
“When you bring a bill that has agencies already in place to take care of irrigation and agricultural production, what you ought to do is first bring the bill; let’s see the bill, not something that looks like a motion,” he said.
He added, “This bill did not say it is creating an agency; this bill did not say it is amending existing agencies. You are actually building something on nothing.”
Ningi urged the Senate to suspend the bill so that its sponsors could improve it.
“This is a brilliant idea, but a lot of work has not been done. If it is a motion, Mr President, this could be a very good motion, excellent preparatory work towards enacting a law. I believe we can stand down this bill and do a better job,” he said.
The disagreement grew when another senator raised a point of order under Order 79(1) of the Senate Standing Orders.
The senator argued that debate at the second-reading stage should focus on the main ideas behind a bill rather than its detailed provisions.
However, several lawmakers complained that they had not received printed copies of the proposed law.
The complaints led to a heated session, with some senators demanding to see the document.
“Where is the bill? Show me a copy! Show me a copy!” some lawmakers shouted.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who presided over the sitting, intervened and directed Barau to provide printed copies to all senators.
“Deputy Senate President, please provide copies to all senators. Forget this platform. If the platform has collapsed, how will they see it?” Akpabio said.
In response, Monguno said the bill had been officially published, uploaded to the Senate’s digital platform and sent to senators’ offices.
He argued that the digital platform was part of the Senate’s agreed process and that lawmakers were expected to read proposed bills before they were discussed in plenary.
Another major objection came from Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, representing Kebbi North. He is a professor of agricultural economics and a former head of department in the field.
Abdullahi questioned whether one law could properly cover every part of Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
He argued that areas such as farm subsidies, mechanisation and irrigation needed separate laws because they had different challenges.
“Agriculture is too wide and omnibus a human endeavour for it to be covered effectively and efficiently under a single bill,” he said.
He also warned lawmakers against passing laws that were not properly prepared.
“Laws are made to guide policy and implementation of programmes; they are not just nebulous presentations. Once you go there and make a law, of course it will be a law, but if it’s a bad law, it will stay like that forever,” Abdullahi said.
He urged senators to identify the specific problems affecting agriculture and make laws to address them.
“If we are serious about developing agriculture, let us look into the content of our agriculture and identify those areas of constraints where legislation is required and address those particular areas,” he added.
Monguno defended the bill, saying the second reading was meant to examine its main ideas. He said lawmakers would have the opportunity to study its details at later stages.
He also defended the use of the Senate’s digital platform but agreed that the required procedures could be completed before the bill was presented again.
The disagreement continued when another senator accused the Senate Leader of using his position to pressure lawmakers. The senator insisted that all members had the right to express their views.
The matter was eventually settled after a senior senator referred to Section 3 of the Senate Rules.
The section states that a printed copy of a bill should be sent to every senator as soon as possible.
The senator argued that the rule clearly required printed copies and did not say that uploading a bill to the digital platform was enough.
Following the objections, Barau withdrew the bill and promised to follow the Senate’s rules.
“So it has been withdrawn until it is given to him. Since that’s what you want, I will get it done. Forget about the fact that it has been placed on the platform. As we agreed, we are going to give you and give others who have not gotten it. We will comply with the rules,” Barau said.
He added, “I am the Deputy Senate President. I will always want to please anyone to the best of my ability.”
Akpabio later acknowledged the withdrawal and confirmed that the bill had been stepped down.
The bill may return to the Senate after the required procedures have been completed and printed copies have been given to lawmakers.
The development comes as the National Assembly considers ways to tackle food shortages, increase farm production and improve Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
