THE National Assembly has perfected the passage of eight bills for assent by President Muhammadu Buhari, as part of the measures aimed at tackling economic recession.
A statement by the media office of the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, indicated on Monday that the bills, which were ready before the annual recess, would soon be presented to the president for assent.
The bills were received from the House of Representatives and subsequently passed for concurrence.
The statement indicated that the bills were those targetted at strengthening the laws of the Federal Republic and boost the nation’s economic well-being.
The statement listed them thus: Telecommunication 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 the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Act (Amendment) Bill.
“By now, it is clear that the senators take Nigeria’ economic situation very seriously,” the statement quoted Saraki to have said, adding that “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 statement also indicated that the Bills were all amendments to existing laws, aimed at strengthening the enforcement mechanisms in the different sectors of the economy.
The statement also quoted Saraki as saying that “moving forward, Nigerians can expect that the legislature will adopt a united and efficient approach to getting Nigeria’s economy back on track.
“We will quickly forward these eight 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.”