Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, Ph.D has underscored the need for the establishment of more specialized agricultural institutions, saying it is necessary to accelerate the federal government’s drive for food security, mechanized farming and diversification of the economy.
Speaker Abbas made submission on Friday in Abuja while declaring open a public hearing of the House on 9 agriculture related bills.
Represented by the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Speaker Abbas explained that three of the bills seek the amendment of Federal Universities of Agriculture Act 2010 to establish Federal University of Agriculture in Oyo, Delta and Enugu States while the remaining six bills are seeking for the amendment of Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria Act, 2004 to pave way for the establishment of Agricultural Colleges and Institutes in Ekiti, Bauchi, Enugu, Delta, Nasarawa and Ogun States.
He said: “To fast-track the Federal Government’s drive for food security, modern and mechanized farming and diversification of the economy, the need for more specialized agricultural institutions that are innovative and research-based has become imperative.
This understanding informed the listing of agricultural reforms in the 10th House’s Legislative Agenda to address the nation’s high cost of food items.
We believe that if these Bills are well processed with robust inputs from you, they would strengthen the nation’s quest for food sufficiency and socio-economic development of our country.”
Speaker Abbas also encouraged the stakeholders to make valid contributions that would enable the House arrive at an informed conclusion on the bills.
“Let me state that public hearing is a key legislative programme designed by the parliament to ensure that the feelings, sentiments and aspirations of the critical stakeholders and other members of the public are reflected in the laws made by the legislature. It also helps the parliament to be better resourced for better-quality laws. Accordingly, I urge you to ensure that your contributions are profound, relevant and vital to help guide the House to administer the right legislative actions to improve on these nine agriculture related bills.
“As it is evident, with nine agricultural related Bills waiting to be evaluated by the stakeholders for enhanced outputs, today’s public hearing is particularly extensive in scope and proportions. Your commitment is therefore sought towards making this event a huge success”, Speaker Abbas said.