Reps to make Nigeria drone manufacturing hub

The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill seeking to establish a national framework for deceased organ and tissue donation and transplantation, with provisions to protect patients, prevent organ trafficking and ensure equitable access to life-saving medical procedures.
 
The bill, sponsored by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, and six other lawmakers, was passed at plenary yesterday and referred to the relevant committee for further legislative action.
 
The proposed legislation seeks to regulate the entire process of deceased organ donation, from the identification and authorisation of potential donors to the recovery, preservation, allocation, and transplantation of organs and tissues.
 
It also provides for the establishment of a National Deceased Donation and Transplantation Authority to oversee the system, enforce standards and coordinate donation and transplantation activities across the country.
 
Leading the debate on the bill’s general principles, one of its co-sponsors, Patrick Umoh, said organ and tissue donation offered a remarkable opportunity for one person’s death to give another person a chance at renewed life.
 
He, however, stressed that the process involved significant legal, ethical and medical responsibilities that required a clear regulatory framework to protect donors, recipients and their families.
 
Umoh warned that the absence of an effective legal framework could expose vulnerable people to exploitation and undermine public confidence in organ donation.

Also, the lawmakers moved to position Nigeria as a regional and international hub for drone manufacturing, advancing a bill to establish a legal and institutional framework for developing indigenous capacity to design, produce, and commercialise drone technology.
 
The bill, sponsored by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, and 12 other lawmakers, passed second reading during plenary yesterday.
 
Titled “A Bill for an Act to Provide for the Development, Promotion and Industrialisation of the Nigerian Drone Industry and for Related Matters,” the proposed legislation seeks to reduce the country’s dependence on imported drone technology by promoting local research, manufacturing, investment and skills development.
 
Leading the debate on the bill’s general principles, one of its co-sponsors, Satomi Ahmad, said Nigeria needed a coordinated framework to translate technological innovations into commercially viable products that meet domestic demand and compete in international markets.
 
He said the legislation would promote indigenous research and development, strengthen local manufacturing capacity, attract investment, create jobs and position Nigeria as a competitive centre for drone production and related services.
 
Ahmad lamented that the country’s dependence on imported technology was limiting opportunities for local innovation, employment generation and industrial growth.
 
He argued that without deliberate government support for manufacturing and commercialisation, indigenous enterprises could struggle to transform promising ideas into viable products.
 
The lawmaker urged his colleagues to support the bill, which he said would address these challenges through targeted incentives, government procurement preferences, innovation funding and local-content requirements.
 
He said: “The future belongs to nations that can transform technological innovation into industrial capacity, economic prosperity and national security.