The Deputy Chief Whip of the 10th Nigerian Senate who represents the good people of Ebonyi North Senatorial district- Distinguished Senator Peter Onyekachi Nwebonyi has successfully presented the Raw Materials Processing and Local Production Protection Bill for a Second Reading at the floor of the Nigerian Senate on Tuesday, 10th December, 2024.
While Leading the debate for the Bill, Senator Nwebonyi emphasized that the Bill when passed into law would enhance local production, promote indigenous technology and local content. This he said would discourage capital flights and boost our gross domestic product. According to Senator Nwebonyi:
“This bill, if enacted into law will shield Nigerian manufacturers from foreign competition by regulating the importation of raw materials that can be produced locally.
“The Bill if passed into Law will create a more favourable environment for domestic companies to thrive.”
Recall that Senator Nwebonyi presented the Bill at the floor of the Senate on October 15, 2024 for the first reading. The people-oriented bill understandably received positive nods from many Distinguished Senators during the Second Reading including the Deputy Senate President- Senator Jibrin Barau who painstakingly highlighted the advantages of the bill and urged his colleagues to support it. In his words:
“People will be engaged, and the economy will become wealthy.
“We have the capacity, human capital, and technical resources to act on these raw materials and to process these raw materials. And by not doing so, we are undermining our economy while allowing for the promotion of other economies.
“This will energize our economy by providing jobs and promoting our real sector. Our real sector will be energized; we will go up and running. It’s very straightforward.
Meanwhile, other Distinguished Senators who threw their weights behind the bill were Aminu Iya Abbas and Deputy Senate Leader- Ashiru Oyelola who expertly enumerated the invaluable benefits of the Bill to national development and its potentials to strengthen the nation’s local industries if passed into law.
While acknowledging the immense benefits of the bill, Deputy Senate Minority Leader, Dr Lere Oyewumi, who observed that some raw materials cannot be processed locally due to the absence of local industries called for minor amendments to accommodate this concern.
Heartwarmingly, after heated debate and exhaustive deliberations, the Senate President-His Excellency, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio put it to a voice vote and the Ayes have it. Consequently, the Bill was unanimously adopted for the second reading.
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