President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has said legislative intervention by the National Assembly under his leadership has helped to stimulate economic growth in the country.
Senator Lawan made the declaration on Wednesday on the floor of the Senate while appraising the two years of the Ninth National Assembly.
He listed instances of such positive interventions to include, the passage of the Deep Off-Shore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act CAP D3 LFN 2004 (Amendment Bill, 2009), the Finance Bill 2019 (Nigeria Tax and Fiscal Law) (SB.140), amongst others.
He said:” As I said earlier, we agreed in our Agenda to focus on some key areas, including the economy. One of our most significant interventions in this sector is the restoration of the national annual budget to the January to December cycle. This measure has made the nation’s fiscal plans more predictable and boosted the confidence of local and foreign investors in our economy. It is noteworthy that for the first time under the Fourth Republic, the budget achieved 100 per cent implementation level last year.
The restoration was achieved in partnership with the House of Representatives and with the cooperation and commitment of the Executive Arm. And it signaled the possibilities in our country when all stakeholders are working together.
Also noteworthy is the passage of the Deep Off-Shore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act CAP D3 LFN 2004 (Amendment Bill, 2009). We passed this very important law to increase Nigeria’s share of the revenue from its crude oil.
Other laws that we passed that are having significant impacts on the economy include the Finance Bill 2019 (Nigeria Tax and Fiscal Law) (SB.140), which amended seven existing tax laws.
In our Legislative Agenda, we had also promised to create a legal environment conducive for ease of doing business. We kept this promise by passing the Companies and Allied Matters Act, Cap C20 LFN 2004 (Repeal and Reenactment) Bill 2019 (SB.270).”
Senator Lawan equally promised the nation to break what he called the jinx on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) by
“passing the Bill this month after about 20 years of failed attempts.”
On the much expected fundamental amendments to the 1999 Constitution, Senator Lawan said the Senate had since concluded zonal public hearings and concluded the process of allowing Nigerians to present memoranda in Abuja.
He further assured the nation that the views collated would ultimately form part of the amendment.
“In this respect, our Committee on the review of the Constitution just concluded Public Hearings in six Geo-Political Zones of the Country from which the Committee collected Memoranda from Nigerians and listened to their views. The zonal hearings were followed by a national public hearing in Abuja last week.
“The essence of this process is to consider the major issues that Nigerians feel strongly about. We believe consensus building is essential to achieve the changes. It is gladdening, however, that Nigerians have shown enthusiasm for the process.
“It is in line with this that we have set a target to consider the report of the Committee on the Amendment of the 1999 Constitution before we embark on this year’s summer break in July.”
There was however a mild drama after Senator Lawan concluded the presentation of his speech. Individuals lawmakers were asked to make brief remarks but the Senate Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe and the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo Agege declined comments.
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