(3) If objection is taken by any member of the Senate or the House of
Representatives present that there are present in the House of which he is a member
(besides the person presiding fewer than one-third of all the members of that House
and that it is not competent for the House to transact business, and after such interval
as may be prescribed in the rules of procedure of the House, the person presiding
ascertains that the number of members present is still less than one-third of all the
members of the House he shall adjourn the House.
(4) The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply in relation to a joint sitting of
both Houses of the National Assembly as they apply in relation to a House of the
National Assembly as if references to the Senate or the House of Representatives and
a member of either Houses are references to both Houses and to any member of the
National Assembly, respectively.
55. The business of the National Assembly shall be conducted in English, and in Hausa, Ibo and
Yoruba when adequate arrangements have been made therefore.
56. (1) Except as otherwise provided by this Constitution any question proposed for decision in the
Senate or the House of Representatives shall be determined by the required majority or the members
present and voting; and the person presiding shall cast a vote whenever necessary y to avoid an
equality of votes but shall not vote in any other case.
(2) Except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, the required majority for the
purpose of determining any question shall be a simple majority.
(3) The Senate or the House of Representatives shall by its rules provide (a) that a member of the House shall declare any
direct pecuniary interest he may have in any
matter coming before the House for deliberation;
(b) that the House may by resolution decide
whether or not such member may vote, or
participate in its deliberations, on such matter;
(c) the penalty, if any, which the House may
impose for failure to declare any direct
pecuniary interest such member may have; and`
(d) for such other matters pertaining to the
foregoing as the House may think necessary,
but nothing in the foregoing provisions shall
enable any rules to be made to require any
member, who signifies his intention not to vote
on or participate in such matter, and who does
not so vote or participate, to declare any such
interest.
57. Any person who sits or votes in the Senate or the House of Representatives knowing or having
reasonable grounds for knowing that he is not entitled to do so commits an offence and is liable on
conviction to such punishment as shall be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.
58. (1) The power of the National Assembly to make laws shall be exercised by bills passed by both
the Senate and the House of Representatives and, except as otherwise provided by subsection (5) of
this section, assented to by the President.
(2) A bill may originate in either the Senate or the House of Representatives and
shall not become law unless it has been passed and, except as otherwise provided by
this section and section 59 of this Constitution, assented to in accordance with the
provisions of this section.
(3) Where a bill has been passed by the House in which it originated, it shall be sent
to the other House, and it shall be presented to the President for assent when it has