5TH ORDINARY MEETING: ABH ASSEMBLY ADDRESSES BUDGET DELAYS, RATIFICATION ISSUES, AND COMMITTEE IRREGULARITIES

The 5th Ordinary Meeting of the Alexander Brown Hall (ABH) Assembly was held on Saturday, March 22, 2025. Initially scheduled to begin at 3:45 PM, the meeting commenced at 4:02 PM with Honourable Olayiwola of the UIMSA constituency moving the motion to start, seconded by Honourable Michael Paul of the G3 Left constituency.

Proceeding with the agenda, the Clerk, Honourable Chidinma Onyiuke, read the minutes of the previous meeting, which was held virtually on Friday, March 21, 2025, at 4:05 PM. With no comments or corrections, the motion for adoption was moved by Honourable Elabor Rafiu of the G2 constituency and seconded by Honourable Aderemi of the UIMSA constituency. The Speaker, Honourable Omotayo Goodluck, then announced that Honourable Michael Paul would serve as Acting Chief Whip in the absence of the original Chief Whip, who was on leave.

Next, the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of the ABH Press presented a revised budget proposal for the 2025 ABH Press Night, which would feature representatives from the ABH Press, DENTATICS Press, UIMSA Press, PHYSIOPRESS, and the University Campus Journalists (UCJ) Press. The proposed expenses included: Sound system – ₦4,000, extra microphones – ₦4,000, refreshments for pressmen – ₦11,500 totalling ₦19,500.

Several deliberations were made concerning the sound system, power supply, and venue. While the Assembly commended the EIC for preparing a well-structured budget, it was noted that further confirmation was needed regarding these aspects. The budget was adopted at 4:27 PM, with Honourable Olayiwola and Honourable Adedayo of the G2 Left constituency moving and seconding the motion, respectively.

The Hall Week budget, which was to be presented by the Hall Week Secretary, Mr. Alonge Razaq, was unavailable. He attributed the delay to poor electricity supply affecting his devices and personal fatigue, which caused him to fall asleep. Expressing displeasure, the Speaker noted that Mr. Razaq had been informed since the previous Saturday and had not mentioned any difficulties when the meeting link was sent to him at 1:30 PM that day.

Honourable Olayiwola dismissed the excuse as unacceptable and suggested that a fine be imposed, with the budget presentation postponed to a later date. This was supported by Honourable Onyiuke and Honourable Agboola. A motion was then raised by Honourable Iwasepeletun for Mr. Alonge Razaq to pay a ₦500 fine and submit a letter of apology within 48 hours, seconded by Honourable Jimoh. An alternative motion for submission of the apology within 24 hours was moved by Honourable Onyiuke and seconded by Honourable Adeyemo.

The Acting Chief Whip, Honourable Michael Paul, conducted a vote: 6 Honourables supported the 48-hour deadline and 9 Honourables supported the 24-hour deadline

The latter motion was adopted. The motion to postpone agenda items 2 and 3 was moved by Honourable Olayiwola, seconded by Honourable Bello, and unanimously approved at 5:18 PM.

During the Any Other Business (AOB) session, concerns were raised regarding the committee lists for the Female Affairs Ministry and the Security Committee. Despite multiple efforts, these lists had not been made available, and no satisfactory explanation was provided by the responsible executives. Several Honourables suggested that the Assembly was not at fault and that appropriate penalties should be imposed.

A debate ensued regarding the ratification of committee members. Two motions were put forward:

1. Non-ratification of any names not originally on the committee list at the start of the tenure until the bye-elections. Moved by Honourable Olayiwola and seconded by Honourable Adebayo.
2. Ratification of members who had been in service since October 2024, with a supervising committee verifying the list.

The vote results were as follows: 10 Honourables supported the first motion while 3 Honourables supported the second motion. The first motion was adopted.

Additionally, Honourable Iwasepeletun moved for the Hall Secretary to be fined ₦1,000 and for the concerned committee executives to issue an apology letter within 72 hours, explaining to their members why they were not ratified. This was seconded by Honourable Aderemi and accepted at 6:22 PM.

The motion to adjourn the meeting was moved by Honourable Iwasepeletun and seconded by Honourable Elabor. The meeting was officially closed at 6:24 PM.