By Sunny Anderson Osiebe...
The passage of
the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper
(FSP) preparatory to working on the 2017 budget, amendment of the
Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and the
Universal Basic Education Act as well as the continuation of the
Ministerial Briefing on the proposed closure of the Nnamdi Azikiwe
Airport, Abuja, will dominate discussion at the three day plenary
sittings of the Senate this week.
A peep into the
notice paper released by the office of the chairman, Senate Committee on
Rules and Business, Senator Baba Kaka Garbai indicated that following
the decision to invite the Minister of
Power Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), representatives
of the company billed to handle the repair of the runway of the airport,
Julius Berger, Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika as well as
heads of the security agencies, discussions
on the issue will continue on Tuesday.
Also on the same
day, a motion on the state of affairs in the Internally Displaced
Persons camps in the North-East zone following the recent successes
recorded by the military in opening up the areas
previously locked up by the Boko Haram insurgents will be discussed.
One of the
issues on the Notice Paper slated for Wednesday, include the
consideration of the Report of the Committee on Finance on the 2017 to
2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal
Strategy Paper (FSP), in accordance with the Fiscal Responsibility Act
of 2007. The passage of the MTEF has held up commencement of work on the
2017 budget proposals which had earlier been slated for this week.
The Second
Reading of the Bill to Amend the Compulsory, Free, Universal Basic
Education Act of 2004, that is aimed at enforcing mandatory free
education up to Senior Secondary School level is also
slated for Wednesday alongside the Second Reading of an amendment to
the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), which pushes for the
establishment of State Corporate Affairs Commissions that will be
empowered to register business names.
The CAMA Bill is
one of the 11 Priority bills aimed by the Eighth Senate to restructure
the national economy and put it back on the path of job creation. The
priority economic bills are being planned
to be passed alongside the 2017 budget.
On Thursday, the
Senate will continue its line-by-line consideration of the Report of
the Committee on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),
following the adjournment of debate on the
issue during the December 6, 2016.
Also, another
economic priority Bill, the Nigerian Ports and Harbors Bill of 2017, is
listed on the Notice Paper for third reading. During the debate on the
economy in September last year, the Senate
noted that the operation and administration of Nigeria’s Federal Ports
remains a major revenue-generating agency for the country.
In this regard,
the Nigerian Ports and Harbors Bill was listed as one of the bills that
could help implement transparency and accountability in the management
and collection of revenues accrued from
our ports.
Also on
Thursday, a motion to address the alarm raised by one of the Senators
that Boko Haram insurgents dislodged from Borno and Adamawa States are
regrouping in Taraba State will be discussed and
a position taken by the Senate on the issue.
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