The Senate on Tuesday stepped down the Agricultural Revolution Bill, 2026, sponsored by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, following concerns over its drafting, scope and the failure to circulate printed copies to lawmakers.

The bill, SB. 1082, seeks to establish a legal framework for transforming and modernising Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

The controversy arose during debate on its second reading, when some senators questioned whether the proposed legislation was sufficiently developed and complied with the Senate’s rules on the circulation of bills.

The motion for the second reading was moved by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, on behalf of Barau.

Presenting the bill, Monguno described it as a necessary intervention to address food insecurity, low agricultural productivity and structural challenges facing the sector.

He noted that agriculture provides livelihoods for millions of Nigerians but continues to face challenges, including inadequate mechanisation, poor irrigation infrastructure, insecurity, limited access to affordable financing and high post-harvest losses.

“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 was designed to move Nigeria from subsistence farming to modern, technology-driven and commercially viable agriculture through mechanisation, improved seeds, research, extension services, irrigation and agro-industrial development.

The proposed legislation also seeks to improve storage facilities, cold-chain infrastructure, agro-processing and market access for agricultural products.

Seconding the motion, Senator Muhammad Aliero, representing Kebbi Central, supported the bill, describing agriculture as critical to economic diversification.

However, Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central, questioned the quality of the proposed legislation despite describing its objectives as “excellent, fantastic and timeous”.

Ningi argued that the bill appeared more like a motion than a properly developed piece of legislation, urging its sponsors to do more work before presenting it for consideration.

He said Nigerian farmers produced between two and three tonnes per hectare, compared with eight to 10 tonnes in some other countries, adding that improved mechanisation, research and farming practices were needed to close the productivity gap.

While commending the Federal Government’s agreement to import agricultural machinery from Brazil, he questioned whether the bill adequately addressed the institutions responsible for agricultural development.

“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.

“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 step down the bill to allow its sponsors to improve its provisions.

“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 added.

The debate took another turn when a senator raised a point of order under Order 79(1) of the Senate Standing Orders, arguing that deliberations at second reading should focus on a bill’s general principles rather than its detailed provisions.

However, several lawmakers protested that they had not received printed copies of the bill, triggering a rowdy session.

“Where is the bill? Show me a copy! Show me a copy!” some senators shouted.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who presided over the plenary, intervened and directed Barau to ensure that printed copies were made available to all lawmakers.

“Deputy Senate President, please provide copies to all senators. Forget this platform. If the platform has collapsed, how will they see it?” Akpabio ruled.

Responding, Monguno said the bill had been gazetted, uploaded to the Senate’s digital platform and circulated to senators’ offices.

He maintained that the digital platform was part of the Senate’s agreed legislative process and that lawmakers were expected to familiarise themselves with proposed legislation before plenary consideration.

The strongest criticism came from Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, representing Kebbi North, a professor of agricultural economics and former head of department in the discipline.

Abdullahi questioned the attempt to regulate the entire agricultural sector through one broad legislation, arguing that its various components required separate and targeted laws.

“Agriculture is too wide and omnibus a human endeavour for it to be covered effectively and efficiently under a single bill,” he said.

He argued that issues such as agricultural subsidies, mechanisation and irrigation required specific legislative interventions rather than a blanket legal framework.

Warning against passing poorly drafted laws, he said, “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 cautioned.

He urged lawmakers to identify the specific challenges in the agricultural sector that required legislation and address them individually.

“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 said.

Monguno, however, maintained that the second-reading stage was intended to examine the general principles of a bill, while detailed scrutiny would follow at subsequent stages.

He also defended the use of the Senate’s digital platform but conceded that the necessary procedures could be completed before the bill was reintroduced.

The disagreement intensified when another senator accused the Senate Leader of attempting to intimidate colleagues by invoking his leadership position, insisting that all lawmakers were entitled to express their views freely.

The matter was eventually addressed after a ranking senator cited Section 3 of the Senate Rules, which provides that a printed copy of a bill shall, as soon as possible, be sent to every senator.

The senator argued that the provision expressly required printed copies and did not identify the digital platform as a substitute.

Faced with the objections, Barau withdrew the bill, promising to comply with 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 subsequently acknowledged the withdrawal and confirmed that the bill had been stepped down.

The proposed legislation may return to the Senate after the necessary procedures, including the circulation of printed copies to lawmakers, have been completed.

The development highlights concerns over legislative drafting and parliamentary procedure as the National Assembly considers measures to address food insecurity, improve agricultural productivity and modernise Nigeria’s farming sector.