National Assembly to present eight bills for president’s assent

The Senate said it has passed eight bills received from the House of Representatives and they would be presented to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent soon.

The bills, which are aimed at strengthening the laws of the federation, were considered and passed at a single sitting of the Senate.

The bills include the Telecommunications and Postal Offences Act (Amendment) Bill, National Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds (Registration) Act (Amendment) Bill, Produce (Enforcement of Export Standards) Act (Amendment) Bill, Prevention of Crimes Act (Amendment) Bill, Water Resources Act (Amendment) Bill, National Agricultural Land Development Authority Act (Amendment) Bill, Bee (Import Control and Management) Act (Amendment) Bill and Agricultural and Rural Management Training Act (Amendment) Bill.

The Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, stressed the importance of the bills to ending the country’s economic recession and stated that the bills would be promptly forwarded to President Buhari for his signature.

“By now it is clear that the senators take Nigeria’s economic situation very seriously. If you recall, one of the points from the 21-point resolution passed by the Senate on the economy stated that it would fast-track all economic related bills. What this Senate has done is to match its words with its actions.”

The eight bills, which are all primarily amendments to existing laws, are aimed at strengthening the enforcement mechanisms in sectors of the economy that can help boost internally generated revenue.

Major highlights of the bills include the amendment to the Telecommunications and Postal Offences Act, which is aimed at increasing some of the prescribed penalties, fines and compensations for non-compliance with the Act. This is intended to help boost investment and participation in the telecommunications sector.

“Additionally, the National Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds (Registration) Act (Amendment) Bill, Produce (Enforcement of Export Standards) Act (Amendment) Bill, National Agricultural Land Development Authority Act (Amendment) Bill, Bee (Import Control and Management) Act (Amendment) Bill, and the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Act (Amendment) Bill are all aimed at bolstering the standards in Nigeria’s agricultural sector to help the country achieve economic diversification.

“We will quickly forward these bills, which have been passed by both Houses of the National Assembly to the president. This is only a first step and we will continue to work to ensure that at the end of our tenure, Nigerians will see that this is a people-centred National Assembly,” Saraki said.