Senate Committee on Special Duties has held a public hearing as part of its routine legislative activities preparatory to the final consideration and approval of the National Social Investment (Establishment) Bill 2022 by the Red Chamber.
The hearing aims to facilitate the generation and cross-fertilisation of ideas that will enrich discussions and strengthen the decisions of the legislation in coming up with robust institutional, legal, and regulatory frameworks that will shape and sharpen government policies, programmes and projects in the particular sector that the bill sought to address.
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Speaking during the hearing in Abuja yesterday, the chairman Senate Committee On Special Duties, Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf recalled that on Tuesday 6th of December 2022, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in pursuance of section 62 (1&2) constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, concluded debate on the general principles of the Bill and referred it to this distinguished Committee for further legislative action.
Yusuf said it is as part of the methodology for the exercise that this public hearing was called to enable the committee to gather critical information and valuable data to enrich its decision in line with global best practices and international best lessons.
“The bill seeks to establish an Agency of Government charged with the responsibility of implementing Federal Government policies, programmes, and projects in the Area of National Social Investment, which include N-Power programmes, Conditional Cash Transfer programme, National Homegrown School feeding, entrepreneurship, and empowerment programmes as well as such other programmes as may be approved by the President,” he said.
In his keynote address, Senate President Ahmad Lawan noted that from independence to date, successive administrations have implemented a number of policies, programmes, and projects aimed at reducing poverty and improving the standard of living of the people, however, none of such previous administrations, ever deemed it necessary to provide legislative framework for such intervention programmes.
He said, “National Social Investment programme is a pet project of the Buhari administration established pursuant to the provisions of Section 14(2b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended with the main aim of providing Youth Skills Development, feeding primary school pupils, empowerment of market women and building capabilities of local farmers for the purpose of poverty reduction and improving the standard of living of our people.” Lawan was represented by the deputy chief whip of the senate.
On his part, the permanent secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Nasir Sani Gwarzo, said the creation of NSIP agency is long overdue. He noted that not creating the agency will also make the programme lose its goodwill.