By NEFISHETU YAKUBU

The Senate on Thursday passed two bills seeking to establish a Federal College of Agriculture in Delta and Federal Medical Centre in Oyo.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bills transmitted by the House of Representatives for concurrence, included the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act Amendment Bill, 2026, and the Federal Medical Centres Act Amendment Bill, 2026.

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, who presented the bills for consideration, said that the first bill sought to amend the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act, Cap. A12, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, to establish the college.

Presenting the bills on behalf of Bamidele, the Chief Whip, Mohammed Monguno noted that the proposed Federal College of Agriculture would be located in Owa-Olomu, Ughelli South, Local Government Area of Delta, under the amended legislation.

According to him, the second bill seeks to amend the Federal Medical Centres Act, 2022, to provide a legal framework to establish the Federal Medical Centre, Ido, Oyo.

Monguno, while leading debate on the bills, said both had passed the requisite legislative stages in the House of Representatives and met procedural requirements.

The bills were read for the second time and referred to the Committee of the Whole, where senators considered and approved their clauses and provisions.

The senate subsequently read both bills for the third time and passed them through voice votes.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, commended the senate leader, committee chairmen and members for their contributions to the consideration and passage of the bills.

Akpabio expressed hope that the initiatives would strengthen the education and medical sectors, bring services closer to communities and improve access for Nigerians who required them. (NAN)