Senate President Bukola Saraki has disclosed that the repositioning of the Nigerian economy to effectively meet the challenges of the 21st century is a major priority of the 8th Senate.

He made the disclosure on Monday in Abuja while declaring open a one-day public hearing on a bill to repeal and re-enact the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act of 1979, organised by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions.

He revealed that the Senate has prioritised 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.

He quipped: “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.

“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.”

Insolvency system and practice, the Senate President said, plays an important role in attracting both domestic and foreign investments, as well as promoting investments and entrepreneurial development. “Given these opportunities, there is urgent need for us to repeal and re-enact this Act which has become obsolete and out-dated,” he said.

Saraki reiterated the commitment of the Senate towards 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. “However, this requires all hands on deck; we cannot do this alone,” he noted.

Speaking on the essence of the Senate’s public hearings, Saraki explained: “They 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 revitalising and enhancing the operational frameworks on bankruptcy and insolvency matters to strengthen their applicability in addressing challenges in line with international best practices.

The event, Ibrahim said, was not aimed at witch-hunting, but rather to generate authentic information to enhance and guide the committee.

“Conceptually, bankruptcy is a successful legal procedure that results from an application to the relevant court by a legal entity or a person to have themselves declared bankrupt or by a creditor of a legal entity or person in order to have the legal entity declared bankrupt. It could also imply a special resolution which legal entity files with the Registrar of Companies in order to be declared bankrupt,” he said.

The bill, which he said was referred to the committee on November 3, 2015 is made up of 13 parts rendered in 269 clauses, an improvement on the existing Act with 143 clauses, most of which have become outdated and could not sustain contemporary developments and changes.

Among stakeholders that attended the public hearing were: Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Asset Management Corporation (AMCON); Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Finance; Nigerian Bar Association, National Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), among others.

•Photo shows Senate President Saraki.

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