March 04, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian House of Representatives has rejected a bill that seeks to repeal the Sovereign Investment Authority Act and transfer the assets and liabilities of the authority to the Ministry of Finance.
The sponsor of the bill, Wole Oke, who moved that the bill be read the second time, stated that the function of the sovereign investment authority was to manage and save resources for Nigeria, a function already being handled by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This according to Oke amounts to duplication of responsibility, which the house is trying to do away with among government agencies.
Oke, who is the Chairman House Committee on Public Accounts stated that ”passing the bill would enable the House to conduct a public hearing to see whether the fund does not contravene the constitution.”
Contributing to the debate, a member from Oyo state, Akin Alabi, observed that the bill would reduce the cost of governance.
On his part, Henry Nwawuba, a member from Imo state said; ”the house should tread with caution as the Sovereign Wealth Authority was created to save for a rainy day.”
The Chairman House Committee on Information National Orientation, Mr Olusegun Odebunmi however, urged the sponsor to step down the bill so that the House can evaluate the performance of the fund from inception.
The deputy speaker, Ahmed Wase who presided over the plenary put it to voice vote at the end of which majority of the members rejected the bill.
About the Author
