The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday rejected a motion by Senator Ireti Kingibe, representing the Federal Capital Territory, which sought urgent intervention in Abuja’s deteriorating waste management system and alleged illegal land seizures.
Kingibe, whose motion was co-sponsored by five other senators, raised alarm over the total collapse of municipal waste collection across multiple FCT districts, leaving residential areas and public spaces transformed into open dumps for several weeks.
The senator revealed that waste management workers under the Abuja Environmental Protection Board have gone unpaid for approximately nine months, triggering industrial action that has paralysed essential services. She also disclosed that former contractors are owed arrears from March to October 2025, yet new contracts were awarded in mid-November without settling existing debts.
Beyond sanitation concerns, the motion addressed unauthorised demolitions, illegal conversion of green areas, non-payment of salaries, and alleged unlawful land seizures by the FCT administration.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio ruled the motion inadmissible, stating it did not qualify as urgent national importance because too many issues were bundled together. He instructed Kingibe to withdraw and resubmit as a focused motion on waste management alone.
Senator Sunday Karimi criticised the motion as brought “in deceit,” while Chief Whip Tahir Monguno supported Akpabio’s position on procedural grounds.
Kingibe accepted the directive and pledged to represent the motion focusing solely on waste management issues.
