…strengthen Safety Bureau’s autonomy
The Senate has advanced two bills seeking to expand the academic powers of the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria and reduce ministerial control over the administrative operations of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).
The bills, sponsored by Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate Leader, passed second reading during plenary on Tuesday at the National Assembly in Abuja.
While the proposed amendment to the medical college’s enabling law seeks to empower the institution to award Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in clinical medicine, dentistry and related disciplines, the NSIB bill aims to strengthen the agency’s operational independence and remove administrative hurdles that could impede its investigations.
Leading the debate on the medical college bill, Bamidele said the proposed amendment would expand the institution’s mandate beyond conducting professional postgraduate examinations to include academic programmes and doctoral degrees.
“In addition to conducting professional postgraduate examinations, the College will be empowered to establish academic programmes and award PhD in clinical medicine, dentistry, and related disciplines,” Bamidele said.
He said the reform would bridge the gap between specialist medical training and advanced academic research, while providing the College with a stronger role in developing clinical knowledge.
“This proposed expansion represents an important step towards strengthening the relationship between specialist medical training, clinical research, and advanced academic development.
“It will create a statutory basis for the College to contribute more directly to the development of research capacity, clinical scholarship, and specialised knowledge within the medical profession,” the Senate Leader said.
Bamidele explained that the bill also made provisions for the development and supervision of doctoral programmes within the regulatory framework of the National Universities Commission (NUC).
He said the proposed arrangement would ensure that the college’s expanded academic responsibilities were supported by clearly defined obligations and appropriate regulatory oversight.
According to him, the amendment would establish the legal foundation for the institution to broaden its contribution to medical education, specialised training and research.
If passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Bola Tinubu, the legislation would formally expand the college’s statutory functions, allowing it to integrate specialist medical training with doctoral-level academic research.
The Senate referred the bill to its Committee on Tertiary Institutions and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for further legislative consideration.
On the proposed amendment to the NSIB Act, Bamidele said the bill was intended to strengthen the bureau’s institutional independence, operational autonomy, technical competence and administrative flexibility.
He said certain provisions of the existing law required ministerial approvals or recommendations for specific appointments and administrative procedures, potentially limiting the agency’s ability to carry out its duties efficiently.
According to the Senate Leader, removing these requirements would enable the bureau to perform its statutory functions with greater flexibility and improve the credibility and effectiveness of its investigations.
The proposed changes are also aimed at enhancing the NSIB’s capacity to investigate transportation accidents and incidents, identify their causes and recommend measures to prevent similar occurrences.
Bamidele said an effective accident investigation system was critical to understanding the circumstances surrounding transportation incidents, drawing lessons from them and implementing corrective measures to improve safety.
He added that greater operational independence would allow the bureau to discharge its technical and administrative responsibilities without avoidable procedural delays.
The proposed reform is expected to strengthen the agency’s institutional capacity and improve the implementation of its safety recommendations across the relevant transportation sectors.
Olalere Oyewunmi, the deputy minority leader, seconded the motion for the NSIB amendment bill, while Mohammed Monguno, the Senate chief whip, seconded the bill seeking to expand the powers of the National Postgraduate Medical College.
Following the debates, Senate President Godswill Akpabio ruled that both bills had passed second reading.
Akpabio referred the medical college bill to the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, while the proposed amendment to the NSIB Act was referred to the Senate Committee on Aviation.
The committees are expected to examine the bills and submit their reports to the Senate for further legislative action.
