Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki says the repositioning of the Nigerian economy to effectively meet the challenges of the 21st century is a major priority of the current Senate.
According to a statement, Monday, by his Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Mohammed Isa, Saraki said this while declaring open a one-day public hearing on a bill to repeal and re-enact the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act of 1979, organized by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, in Abuja.
He said the Senate has prioritized business environment reform that would create more jobs and opportunities for the youths, promote and sustain domestic entrepreneurs, as well as to attract new investors into the country.
“We believe that it is important for us to continue the process of strengthening Nigeria’s business-related legislations by examining our bankruptcy laws. This is because global best practices have taught us that the bedrock of modern competitive economies is based on free entry and free exit,” Saraki said.
“This would also mean that for free exit to be orderly in the event of losses, Nigeria needs stronger bankruptcy and insolvency laws to guide the process that would ensure that such firms that incur losses can easily break even and exit the markets using several market tools and intervention mechanisms.”
The Senate President said insolvency system and practice played an important role in attracting both domestic and foreign investments, as well as promoting investments and entrepreneurial development, adding that, “given these opportunities, there is urgent need for us to repeal and re-enact this Act which has become obsolete and out-dated”.
While reiterating the commitment of the Senate in delivering on its legislative agenda to enable the executive to effectively undertake the diversification of the economy and expand people’s opportunity to contribute to better governance, Saraki noted that “this requires all hands on deck; we cannot do this alone.”
He said the Senate’s public hearings “are crucial avenues for us to distil public opinion and check the pulse of the nation over our policies and activities. Our objective is to provide our people with the needed space to participate in our lawmaking processes. These hearings are very important to us, as overtime, the input of actors from various fields and diverse backgrounds on particular legislative issues, have given our work here at the National Assembly, consensus and depth.
“As we settle in to consider the issue before us at this session on the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, our contributions to the discussion of the day, must be guided by the fact that Nigeria is undergoing change; a re-evaluation, re-definition, and re-construction across all sectors of our lives”.
Earlier in his address, chairman of the committee, Senator Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim said the bill was targeted at re-vitalising and enhancing the operational frameworks on bankruptcy and insolvency matters to strengthen their applicability in addressing challenges in line with international best practices.
