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The Senate has passed two amendment bills seeking to clearly define the host communities of the Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences and the Federal College of Education in Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State.
Under the proposed amendments, the Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences will be domiciled in Bende town, while the Federal College of Education will be located in Ethem Bende.
The bills, transmitted by the House of Representatives for concurrence, are aimed at removing ambiguities in the establishment laws of the two institutions and preventing possible communal disputes over their locations.
The bills are the Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Ethem Bende (Establishment) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026 (HB.2775), and the Federal College of Education, Bende (Establishment) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026 (HB.2776).
Leading the debate, Senate Chief Whip, Senator Mohammed Monguno, representing Borno North, said the amendments were necessary to clearly establish the locations and respective host communities of the institutions.
Monguno explained that the university would be situated in Bende town, while the Federal College of Education would be located in Ethem Bende.
He urged senators to support the bills, noting that the clarification would give each institution a clearly defined host community.
The two bills passed second reading before being referred to the Committee of the Whole for clause-by-clause consideration. They were subsequently adopted and passed through third reading.
Commenting on the development, Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the amendments as minor but significant legislative corrections capable of preventing misunderstandings and communal disagreements.
Akpabio commended the House of Representatives for identifying the need to address the ambiguity surrounding the host communities of the institutions.
He expressed optimism that presidential assent to the amended laws would eliminate potential sources of friction and promote peaceful coexistence among the affected communities.
The Senate President particularly congratulated the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, for sponsoring the legislative initiative.
He also praised both chambers of the National Assembly for addressing an issue he described as seemingly minor but with significant implications for peaceful relations among the communities.
With the Senate’s passage of the two amendment bills, the proposed legislation will now be transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
Recall that the Indigenes of Item community in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State had earlier dragged the National Assembly and other federal authorities to court over moves to relocate the Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences from Item to Bende, the hometown of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court, Umuahia Judicial Division, on October 23, 2026, is challenging legislative moves to amend the university’s establishment law to change its officially designated location.
The claimant, Chief Empero Gabriel Ogbonna, instituted the action on his own behalf and on behalf of other indigenes and residents of Item.
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