By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.
KOGI House of Assembly on Tuesday read for the second time, a Bill for a Law to provide for the establishment of “Kogi State Anti-corruption Agency” to assist government in combating corruption in the State.
Leading the Debate on the Bill at plenary on the floor of the House on Tuesday in Lokoja, Hon. Suleiman Abdulrazak (APC-Okene Town) noted that the bill when passed into law would address issues of corruption bedeviling the state.
Before delving into the merits of the Bill, the Lead Debater quickly pointed out that the intent behind the establishment of the proposed Kogi Anti-corruption Agency was not to compete with Federal Anti-graft agencies.
Hon. Abdulrazak who is also the Majority Leader of Kogi State House of Assembly averred that the state agency would rather compliment efforts of the Federal agencies in fighting corruption in the Country.
In his contribution Hon. Bin-Ebaiya Shehu Tijani (APC-Lokoja I) noted that the Bill was coming at the right time saying that there was need to have a state Anti-graft Agency in place as the absence of such could create a legal or constitutional lacuna.
He said, “In the year 2015 our leader who was at the verge of winning the election died during the process. That situation in Kogi State put the whole nation into confusion since such incident was never envisaged or captured in our Constitution.
“The scenario, when it happened, led to a review of our constitution and that is the more reason I said this is coming at the right time. Before an outsider will come to look at our books, Let us out our house in order.”
Hon. Enefola Major (APC-Igalamela/Odolu) in his contribution opined that corruption had remained the bane of development in Nigeria affecting every fabric of the society hence the need to give the bill an express passage.
“Corruption is endemic in our society. Sadly, many Nigerians are corrupt. It is high time we all hold the bull by the horn. I am appealing to our colleagues to join hands to support this bill”.
The Speaker Rt Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf in his ruling, described the bill as very important saying that it would even assist the House in carrying out its oversight functions, stressing that it would not antagonize Federal anti graft agencies.
He enjoined those in positions of authority, with nomenclatures for approval of expenditures, to be very careful as the agency would collaborate with Federal Anti-graft agencies to make our society corruption-free and a better place.
The Speaker said that the Agency could be of use to the Federal agencies in providing adequate evidence to help prosecute corruption cases as he noted that the Federal Government was losing some cases as a result of inadequate investigation.
Rt Hon. Yusuf then committed to the Bill to the House Committee on Judiciary and Legal Matters to prepare it for Public Hearing and other legislative processes preparatory to its third Reading and final passage.
Also at Tuesday plenary sitting, a bill for a law to repeal and re-enact the Kogi State Local Government Service Commission and a bill for a law to repeal and re-enact the Kogi State Scholarship Board edict, 1998, had their second reading.
A bill for a law to establish the Kogi State Electricity Market and the Kogi State Electricity Regulatory Commission also had its second reading on the floor of the House. (Ends)