By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
The Nigerian Senate has disclosed that the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Amendment Bill does not outlaw preaching on the streets as some interests have claimed in different fora.
The Upper Chamber posited that the bill is about the safety of commuters and other road users and not intended to undermine any religious activity in the public space.
The Senate in a statement from the office of the Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, Office of the Leader of the Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria, added that, it has duly noticed public concerns on the purported proscription of preaching and hawking in a commercial vehicle under the ongoing amendment to the Federal Road Safety Commission, Establishment, Act, No. 22, 2007.
It added that Pursuant to Section 10(4) of the Federal Road Safety Commission (Establishment) Act, 2007 and Regulation 220 of the National Road Traffic Regulations (NRTR) 2012), preaching and hawking in a commercial vehicle are offences.
The Senate stressed that the offences have been part of the Act before the current amendment.
Entrenched as Item 36 in the Second Schedule of the Act, the upper chamber said preaching and hawking in a commercial vehicle are not new provisions in our legal system saying the provisions have been part of the Act as far back as 2007.
The Bill, the Senate clarified, was not an initiative of Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, but a concurrence bill first amended by the House of Representatives.
As required by the 1999 Constitution, the Bill requires the concurrence of the Senate before it can become effective.
It maintained that the amendment process is still ongoing, and in the spirit of democracy, stakeholders are advised to channel their concerns to the appropriate institutions before the completion of the process.
