Buhari meets Saraki, signs Endangered Species Act

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday again met behind closed doors in the Presidential Villa with the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki‎.

Saraki later joined Buhari to observe the Jumat prayer at the Villa.

President Buhari also yesterday signed the ‎Endangered Species Control of International Trade and Traffic Amendment Act 2016, into law – one of the proposed legislations earlier passed by the National Assembly and transmitted to the Presidency for assent, making it 17 the number of legislations assented to by the President in 2016 to become laws of the country.‎

Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, who briefed state house correspondents, said ‎the Act was one of the 10 bills forwarded by the National Assembly to President Buhari, adding that with this the president has completed work on all the bills sent to him for assent.

“The intent of this amendment is to bring the penalty provisions in line with economic realities and to serve as a deterrent to people trafficking in endangered species because endangered species are the preserves of the country.”

Senator Enang told reporters that the piece of legislation is to discourage trafficking in endangered species and to encourage the culture of the preservation of endangered species. He added that with the assent, the president has increased the penalties for violations of the provisions in line with contemporary realities.
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Meanwhile, addressing State House correspondents after the Jumat prayers on what Nigerians should expect in 2017 from the National Assembly, Senator Saraki said, “As we have stated in 2016, in 2017, our attention will be on the economy because that is really a major issue for us as a country. We want to see some of the economic bills put forward passed, to see that there is greater improvement in the process of the budget in 2017 and to see that the government implements the budget early.