The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Senate

  • Grazing reserve bill lands in Senate

    The controversial National Grazing Reserve Agency Bill pending in the House of Representatives landed in Senate with a bang on Wednesday.

    Another bill likely to provoke controversy, the National Ranches Commission Bill, was also introduced in the Senate same day.

    Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano Central) and others are listed as sponsors of the National Grazing Reserve Agency Bill entitled: “National Grazing Reserves Agency (establishment etc) Bill 2016 (SB.292.”

    Senator Barnabas Gemade (Benue North East) sponsored the National Ranches Commission (establishment etc) Bill 2016 (SB 293).

    Both bills passed the mandatory first reading on Wednesday.

    Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah (Kebbi South), who read the bills said, “do we take it that the bills have passed second reading?

    The Senate chamber erupted with a deafening “No, not at all.”

    The National Grazing Reserve Agency Bill pending in the House of Representatives has been roundly criticized as a ploy by the Federal Government to grab and seize land from their original owner to be given to cattle herders.

    The same Bill sponsored by Senator Zanaib Kure from Niger State failed to fly in the sixth Senate when it was introduced.

    At a recent public hearing in the Senate on the clashes between farmers and herdsmen, the federal government, represented by Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, canvassed for the establishment of ranches.

    The leaders of the herdsmen, under the aegis of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria stoutly opposed the establishment of ranches.

    They insisted on creation of grazing reserves in parts of the country as the only solution to farmers and herdsmen clashes.

  • Forgery: Senate summons AGF

    Forgery: Senate summons AGF

    The Senate on Tuesday summoned the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, over the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Rules by senators.

    The Senate president, Bukola Saraki, his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu and some other senators will be arraigned on June 27 over their alleged involvement in the forgery of the Senate rules.

    Details later…

     

  • APC to investigate alleged forgery at the Senate

    APC to investigate alleged forgery at the Senate

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it will conduct an investigation into the alleged case of forgery against some principal officers of the Senate.

    The National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, made this known to reporters in Abuja.

    He said the investigation would ascertain the truth in the allegation.

    It would be recalled that President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, his deputy, Mr Ike Ekweremadu and some officers of the upper chamber were accused of forging the Senate’s Standing Rules in 2015.

    “At this stage I don’t think there is anything to say. In fact everything is still a guess work.

    “Nobody has said yes or they have been arrested or asked to make statement or whatever. As a party we do not think it is the business of the party to interfere in judicial matters of that nature.

    “We will just wait and see as we are also making investigations to be sure what the situation is,’’ Odigie-Oyegun said.

    On allegation that the party leadership wanted the Senate leadership removed for lack of cordial relationship with the executive, the Chairman said: “No, no, no; this is the kind of problem that the press always cause.

    “You are now taking the sensational aspect. You are forgetting the nitty-gritty. Did what they say really happen? That is what you should look at.

    “Take the two copies (the new copy and the old copy) of the Senate rules and see if there is a difference. If there is a difference, at what formal meeting was it approved and adopted?

    “You should start from this so that when you are commenting it would not be sensation, it would be based on fact and reality.

    “You see, we have to change the way we do things in this country; we have to start telling people what is right and what is wrong and to choose what is right as against what is wrong.

    “This is where I expect you to start. Don’t start making it party versus ex-issue. The point would be: was an offence committed? Establish that first and then you can move on,’’ he said.

     

  • Senate probes N500b aviation bailout fund

    Senate probes N500b aviation bailout fund

    There were shocking revelations yesterday on how the N500 billion aviation and power bailout funds were squandered.

    A beneficiary transferred $18 million to a bank in Ghana, another got $6 million to buy an equipment that cost $4,000 and N150 million was paid into an individual’s account.

    It was all at the Senate’s investigation into the utilisation of Federal Government bailout, the fund for the troubled sectors.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said only N120 billion was released to ailing airlines designated through the banks.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma, who chaired the investigative hearing, said the mandate of the Joint committee on Aviation and Anti-Corruption is to probe disbursement and utilisation of $40million AFRIX loan and N86.6billion alleged to have been released by the Federal Government in 2011 for the rehabilitation and development of infrastructure in the aviation industry.

    Minister of Transportation Chibuike Amaechi, who was first to address the hearing, said the ministry “does not know anything about $40million; neither do we know about any N86.6 billion”.

    Amaechi also said the ministry did not know how the funds were generated and disbursed.

    Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika noted that it was obvious that the funds were wrongly used and probably diverted by the beneficiaries.

    The minister added that “this is something that went terribly wrong in the past”.

    “What is unbelievable as discovered by the committee is that these monies were  transferred out of the country; the monies were transferred into private accounts, transferred into foreign banks and used to buy private houses,” the minister said.

    A director in the CBN, Mr. Mudashiru Olaitan, said that the apex bank’s intervention in the aviation and power sectors was N500 billion.

    The CBN director said that N300 billion was actually released and dedicated to power and the airlines as bailout.

    The balance of N200 billion, he said, was for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    He said the Bank of Industry was the managing agent. The tenure of the loan was between 10 and 15 years.

    Olaitan said the beneficiaries had been servicing the loan and that only N81 billion was outstanding.

    Uzodinma said that the Joint Committee was interested in knowing which instrument created the intervention fund, who approved the fund and who established the guidelines for disbursement.

    He also said that the committee wanted to know whether at any time the CBN engaged consultants; who shortlisted the 10 airlines that benefited from the fund and whether there are funds to be recovered; if yes, whether it is from dead airlines or those still flying.

    Olaitan said that the fund was created by the debenture issue of the Bank of Industry and approved by the Presidency.

    He said some banks provided security for the loan while the guidelines were established by the CBN.

    He was silent on who shortlisted the benefiting airlines.

    On whether assessment of the impact of the fund on airlines had been made, he noted that if the fund did not come when it did, there would have been no airline flying in the country today.

    He said one or two of the airlines that got the funds were no longer flying.

    On who applied for Air Nigeria which told the committee that it did not apply for any loan because it did not need it, he said BoI processed the applications.

    The BoI also confirmed that Air Nigeria duly applied for the loan.

    A member of the committee, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, said they were interested in the list of the airlines that accessed the fund and are still in operation.

    Na’Allah said the committee was told that one of the beneficiaries of the fund transfer red $18million to a bank in Ghana and N150 million was transferred to the account of “one Olajumoke”.

    A particular airline received $6million to buy Emergency Location Transmitter (ELT) that is sold at $4,000.

    The committee said even after collecting $6million for the ELT, the airline still failed to buy the equipment.

    Another member of the committee, Senator Shaaba Lafiagi, said it appeared that some banks used the CBN to collect what the airlines were already owing them.

    Uzodinma noted that issues involved are grave and should be treated as such.

    He said: “The allegations are not just absurd but shocking. We are here to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of such allegations of misappropriation or diversion of the said funds. As is normally the case in any investigation we hold, nobody is guilty unless it is proven beyond all reasonable doubts that he or she is guilty.”

    Uzodinma noted that some of the airlines have folded up.

    According to him, Arik Airlines, Dana Airline,Aero Helicopters, Kabo Air, Caverton Helicopters, Overland Airways, Chanchangi Airline and Odenegene Air Shuttle benefited from the funds.

    He said from the list, it is clear that some of the airlines have become moribund.

    He said some of the questions the committee was seeking answers to are how much each airline got; did the management of the airlines deploy the fund for the purpose it was released; if the funds were judiciously applied, why did some of the airlines that benefited fold up, what was were criteria for choosing the airlines; to what extent is the Ministry of Aviation’s involvement  in the short-listing of the airlines?

     

  • The Senate also cry

    The Rich Also Cry was a hugely popular Mexican soap, aired a few years ago, on terrestrial Nigerian television.  Those pre-cable days!  When The Rich got aired, the street was funereal-quiet, as nearly every family that boasted a TV set was captured.  Such humongous popularity!

    But with the latest development in the Senate, and the screeching fore-cry issuing from that hallowed — no, it can’t be hollow, now! — chamber, that soap could well have been a rare hit of life imitating art!

    What’s brewing at the Senate?  Not much, really.  Just a straight case of alleged forgery, which a court can clear in no time: the guilty slammed in the can; and the innocent discharged and acquitted with honour.  But this simple gamut of due process appears giving someone, somewhere the jitters!

    Well, Senate President Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, with one or two others in the National Assembly bureaucracy, are named in another scandal — that of allegedly forging the Senate Rule, under which they both got into office.

    To be sure, the charge is not really new.  It had been there for almost a year now.  The Police were said to have investigated the allegations, and established a prima facie case.  But for some reasons, the Attorney-General, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has been bidding his time.

    But all that seems changed, as the indications are that the case is ready to go to court.  That, however, has provoked a fearsome shriek, as official reaction from the Senate, as usual mixing up individuals’ putative culpability with the Senate’s institutional identity.  That, Hardball can outright say, is rich — and extremely cheap.

    In reacting to the formal prosecution of the case, Sabi Abdullahi, Senate Media and Public Committee chairman, went absolutely ballistic, threatening everyone, jabbing at the Muhammadu Buhari executive, throwing hideous hooks at the All Progressives Congress (APC) top party hierarchs, and accusing about anyone in sight, of allegedly trying to destabilise the Senate.

    He even growled, like the absolutely provoked bad-tempered would, that prosecuting a case of alleged forgery could cripple the doctrine of separation of powers, and its handmaiden, checks-and-balances, with the sinister hint that such a move could be impeachable for the president!

    But how so?  Is the president docked for forgery?

    But after all the thunder and tempest, the case is clear and very simple.  That Saraki and Ekweremadu tweaked the Senate Rules to aid their controversial elections is only an allegation.  It is trite: he who alleges must prove.

    So, if the state must prove; and defendants avail themselves of their rights under the law, what is the excitement about?  Or is it just a case of the guilty being afraid?

    If true, that would be well and truly tragic.  But it can’t be, even if that is what Senator Abdullahi’s media filibustering would suggest.  We just cannot have the highest legislative chamber in the land, which principal officers gained office by fraudulent means.

    So, let justice come blind-folded.  Let the innocent be freed, but the guilty be chained.  But let no one resort to funny threats.  Far from strength, it is a sign of contemptible weakness.

  • Senate probes N500b aviation bail fund

    Senate probes N500b aviation bail fund

    The Senate Monday commenced investigation into the utilization of N500 billion allegedly released by the Federal Government as bailout for the Aviation and Power sectors.

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) however said that only N120 billion was released to the ailing airlines designated through the banks.

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Hope Uzodinma, who chaired the investigative hearing, said the mandate of the Joint committee on Aviation and Anti-Corruption is to probe disbursement and utilization of $40million AFRIX loan and N86.6billion alleged to have been released by the Federal Government in 2011 for the rehabilitation and development of infrastructure in the Aviation industry.

    Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, who was first to address the hearing said that his ministry “does not know anything about $40million neither do we know about any N86.6 billion.”

    Amaechi also said that his ministry does not know how the funds were generated and disbursed.

    Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on his own, noted that it was obvious that the funds were wrongly used and probably diverted by the beneficiaries.

    The minister added that “this is something that went terribly wrong in the past.”

    “What is unbelievable as discovered by the committee is that these monies were  transferred out of the country; the monies were transferred into private accounts, transferred into foreign banks and used to buy private houses,” the minister said.

    A director in the CBN, Mr. Mudashiru Olaitan said that the apex bank’s intervention in the Aviation and Power sectors was to the tune of N500 billion.

    The CBN director said that N300 billion was actually released and dedicated to power and the airlines as bail out.

    The balance of N200 billion, he said, was for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    He said that the Bank of Industry was the managing agent while the tenure of the loan was between 10 to 15 years.

    Olaitan said that the beneficiaries have been servicing the loan with only N81 billion is still outstanding.

    Senator Uzodinma said that the Joint Committee was interested to know which instrument created the intervention fund, who approved the fund and who established the guidelines for disbursement.

    He also said that the committee wanted to know whether at any time the CBN engaged the services of consultants; who shortlisted the 10 airlines that benefitted from the fund and whether there are funds to be recovered; if yes, whether it is from dead airlines or those still flying.

    Olaitan said that the fund was created by the debenture issue of the Bank of Industry and approved by the Presidency.

    He said that some banks provided security for the loan while the guidelines were established by the CBN including the tenure of 10 to 15 years.

    He was silent on who shortlisted the benefiting airlines.

    On whether assessment of the impact of the fund on airlines had been made, he noted that if the fund did not come when it did there would have been no airline flying in the country today.

    He said that one or two of the airlines that benefitted from the funds were no longer flying.

    On who applied for Air Nigeria which told the committee that it did not apply for any loan because it did not need it, he said that BoI processed the applications.

    The BoI also confirmed that Air Nigeria duly applied for the loan.

    A member of the committee, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, said that they are interested in the list of the airlines that accessed the fund and are still in operation.

    Na’Allah said that the committee was told that one of the beneficiaries of the fund transfer red $18million to a bank in Ghana while another N150 million was transferred to the account of one Olajumoke.

    It was also revealed at the hearing that a particular airline received $6million to purchase Emergency Location Transmitter (ELT) that is sold $4,000.

    The committee said that even after collecting $6million for the ELT, the airline still failed to buy the equipment.

    Another member of the committee, Senator Shaaba Lafiagi, said that it appeared that some banks used the CBN to collect what the airlines were already owing them.

    For instance, Air Nigeria was said to have owed United Bank for Africa (UBA) N35.5 billion which the bank allegedly collected when it acted for Air Nigeria to qualify for the bailout.

    Senator Uzodinma noted that issues involved are grave and should be treated as such.

    He noted that it is very disturbing development to learn of allegations that the monies meant to rescue the airlines were not properly utilized for the stated objectives.

    He said, “The allegations are not just absurd but shocking. We are here to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of such allegations of misappropriation or diversion of the said funds. As is normally the case in any investigation we hold, nobody is guilty unless it is proven beyond all reasonable doubts that he or she is guilty.”

    Senator Uzodinma noted that curiously, from the list of beneficiaries of the funds, some of the airlines have folded up.

    He noted that available information indicated that Arik Airlines, Dana Airline,Aero Helicopters, Kabo Air, Caverton Helicopters, Overland Airways, Chanchangi Airline and Odenegene Air Shuttle benefitted from the funds.

    He said that from the list, it is clear that some of the airlines have become moribund.

    He said that some of the questions agitating their minds included how much did each airline get, did the management of the airlines deploy the fund for the purpose it was released, if the funds were judiciously applied why did some of the airlines that benefitted fold up, what was the criteria for choosing the airlines that benefitted, to what extent was the Ministry of Aviation of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority involved in the short-listing of the airlines that benefitted.

    He also said that it should be asked who profiled the airlines that benefitted for qualification.

  • Senate: AGF leads plot to jail Saraki, Ekweremadu

    Senate: AGF leads plot to jail Saraki, Ekweremadu

    Senators urge Buhari to stop Attorney-Gen.

    Apparently shocked that the stage is set for the trial of its key officials for alleged forgery, the Senate has launched a battle to stave off a major crisis.

    It yesterday accused the Executive of attempting to force out its leaders and named Attorney General Abubakar Malami leader of the plot. President Muhammadu Buhari, the Senate said, should tell Malami to pull the brakes on the plot.

    In a statement, Media and Public Affairs Committee Chairman Senator Sabi Abdullahi said the reopening of the case by the police posed a danger to the autonomy of the legislature.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy have been charged with alleged forgery of the Senate Rules to pave the way for their 2015 election. They both deny any wrong doing.

    To the Senate, charging the officials is “unconstitutional” because the matter has been dealt with at plenary.

    The statement reads: “After reading in the national newspapers and online platforms of the planned charges of forgery and conspiracy preferred  against the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, immediate past Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa and the Clerk of the Senate, Mr. Ben Efeturi and reviewing the circumstances leading to the filing of these charges, we are compelled to alert the good people of Nigeria and the international community, that our democracy is in danger and that the attempt by the Executive Arm of the Federal Government to muzzle the legislature and criminalise legislative processes in order to cause leadership change in the National Assembly is a return to the era of  impunity and lack of respect for due process which we all fought to abolish.

    “We urge President Muhammadu Buhari  to please call his Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, to order. The Senate of the Federal Republic voted freely to elect its leadership into office and continuing attempts to change that leadership through the wanton abuse of judicial processes cannot stand in the eyes of the world.

    “It is clear that the Attorney General and party leaders behind this action either lack the understanding of the underlining principles of constitutional democracy, the concept of separation of powers, checks and balances and parliamentary convention or they just simply do not care if the present democracy in the country survives or collapses in their blinded determination to get Saraki and Ekweremadu by all means necessary, including abuse of office and sacking the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “The Nigerian people have enough economic hardship at this time requiring the full attention and cooperation of the three arms of government, instead of these attempts to distract and politicise governance.

    “We are in a state of economic emergency such that what the National Assembly needs at this time are executive bills and proposals aimed at resolving the crises of unemployment, currency depreciation, inflation, crime and insecurity.

    “What the National Assembly needs now are executive bills to build and strengthen institutions to earn revenues, fight corruption and eliminate waste. Instead, we are getting hostile actions aimed at destabilising the National Assembly, distracting senators from their oversight functions and ensuring good and accountable governance.

    “We must make it clear here to the individuals in the Executive arm and party leadership behind these plots not to mistake the maturity and hand of co-operation being extended to the Presidency by the legislature as a sign of weakness.

    “The National Assembly bent backwards to accommodate various infractions and inefficiencies in pursuit of inter-arms co-operation and national interest. We did not follow up the various infractions because we believe there are bigger issues which the government has to attend to in order to ensure that every Nigerian have food on his table and live comfortably in a secure environment. We know that the country is actually in a state of economic emergency and all hands must be on deck.

    “This latest plot is directed at forcing a change of leadership in the Senate or, in the extreme case, ground the Red Chamber of the National Assembly. Or how do one (sic) interpret a move in which the two presiding officers are being set up to be remanded in Kuje Prison or incapacitated from sitting at plenary through  a day-to-day trial on a matter that is purely an internal affair of the Senate.

    “This obviously is a dangerous case of violation of the independence of the legislature, undue and unnecessary interference in the internal affairs of the Senate and blatant  abuse of the judicial process. The matter now being criminalised was brought to the plenary of the Senate in session, over a year ago.

    “And because it had no support, it was overruled and roundly defeated in chambers. To now take a matter that was resolved on the floor of the Senate to the police and then make it form the subject of a criminal prosecution of freely elected legislators beats all imagination of free thinking men all over the world.

    “The implication is that any matter that fails on the floor of the National Assembly will now be taken to the Police, thereby endangering every Senator and House member.

    “This current move clearly runs contrary to the Doctrine of Separation of Powers and Checks and Balances which are fundamental to the successful operation of the Presidential System of government.

    “It runs counter to the principle outlined by the Supreme Court in the Adesanya Vs Senate case where it was held that nobody should seek to use the courts to achieve what he or she has failed to push through on the floor of the National Assembly.

    “This present effort, therefore, is clearly a coup against the legislature with the ignoble aim to undermine its independence and subject the law making institution to the whims and caprices of the executive. It is a plan to return Nigeria to the dictatorial era which we have, as a nation, voted to reject.

    “It is a dangerous trend with grave implications for the survival of our democracy and the integrity of the component institutions. This rule of men as against the rule of law is also the reason why the war against corruption, one of the cardinal objectives of the present administration, is losing credibility because people perceive it to be selective and, in most cases, aimed at settling political or partisan scores.

    “The Rules of the Senate and how the institution elects its leadership are internal affairs. The Rules of a new Senate are provided by the National Assembly bureaucracy. It has always been so since 1999.

    “After the inauguration of the Senate, if Senators have objections to any part of the Rules, they can follow the procedure for changing it. Senators of the Eighth Senate have no control on the rules applied in the elections of June 9, 2015 because until after their inauguration, they were only Senators-elect, and therefore mere bystanders in the affairs of the Senate.

    “We therefore urge all Nigerians and the International Community to rise up and condemn this blatant attempt to subject the legislature to the control, whims and caprices of the executive.

    “If the Legislative branch falls, democracy fails as there will be no other institution empowered by the Constitution to check and balance the enormous powers of the Executive branch.

    “We also call on the judiciary as the last hope to save our constitutional democracy and  stand up for the rule of law, by doing that which is right in this case”.

  • Senate urges more advocacy on debt mgt

    The Senate has called for more advocacy on debt management and servicing to enable Nigerians understand the benefits and impact of government’s plans to raise funds from the capital and bonds’ market for development purposes.

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Senator Shehu Sani, spoke yesterday  during a three-day retreat organised for members of the committee by the Debt Management Office (DMO) in Minna, Niger State.

    Sani said if there was aggressive advocacy on what such debts were taken for, Nigerians would support such initiative aimed at driving development and engendering development.

    According to him, it was imperative for the DMO to develop a framework in the major languages in the country to get the citizens to understand why debts are taken, for what purpose and what the society stands to benefit from such borrowing.

    He said: “There is need for strategy mix anchored on proper advocacy on what debt management is all about. Nigerians want to know why governments borrow, to what purpose such debts are taken and I can say that once it is well explained, the people will key into the programme.

    “I therefore hope that the DMO will rev up its advocacy especially in the major languages because a whole lot of Nigerians don’t seem to understand why their states governments will take loans and they cannot see why the loan was taken in the first instance.”

    In his remarks, DMO Director-General,  Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, said the workshop with the theme: Processes and Procedures for External and Domestic Borrowing and Settlement, became imperative given the funding of the 2016 budget from loans.

    According to Nwankwo, the Federal Government does not just borrow for borrowing sake but to address the challenge of development and infrastructure growth.

    He explained that the workshop was not only to keep the lawmakers abreast of developments in the debt sector but to get their buy-ins in DMO’s drive to seek for funding from the capital market.

    The DMO chief also said states have not been barred from raising funds but rather,  the National Economic Council (NEC) was against borrowing from commercial banks, adding that it  supports states seeking for capital from bonds, which is cheaper and more sustainable in the long run.

  • Senate passes Public Procurement Bill

    The Senate yesterday passed the Public Procurement Act, 2007 Amendment Bill .

    The bill, if assented to by the President, will, among other things, give priority to locally made goods in all government procurements.

    Presenting the report at plenary, the Chairman of the Procurement Committee, Senator Joshua Dariye said the essence of the bill was to provide for and adopt the local content policy.

    According to him, certain sections of the 2007 version of the Act had been amended to favour local manufacturers and ensure speedy completion of projects.

    Said he: “Similarly, the issue of disposal which is an integral aspect of procurement has been aptly captured by the amendment in the new sub-clause 1(e).

    “The committee has equally sustained the amendment to section 34(1,2) sought by the bill for the purpose of patronising made-in-Nigeria goods; this will go a long way to encourage our Nigerian manufacturers.

  • Senate passes Public Procurement Bill

    The Senate on Thursday passed the Public Procurement Act, 2007 Amendment Bill.

    The bill, if assented to by the President, will, among other things, give priority to locally made goods in all government procurements.

    Presenting the report at plenary, the Chairman of the Procurement committee, Senator Joshua Dariye, said the essence of the bill was to provide for and adopt the local content policy.

    According to him, certain sections of the 2007 version of the Act had been amended to favour local manufacturers and ensure speedy completion of projects.

    He said, “Similarly, the issue of disposal which is an integral aspect of procurement has been aptly captured by the amendment in the new sub-clause 1(e).

    “The committee has equally sustained the amendment to section 34(1,2) sought by the bill for the purpose of patronizing made in Nigeria goods: this will go a long way to encourage our Nigerian manufacturers.

    “The amendment proposed by the bill in section 35 is to review upwards the mobilization fee from 15 per cent to 25 per cent that may be paid to a supplier or contractor. This is aimed at enhancing timely completion of procurement processes at various phases.”

    The Senate, however, approved the inclusion of Nigerian Institute of Architects and the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors as members of the National Council on Public Procurement.