Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has said the repositioning of<\/p>\n
the Nigerian economy to effectively meet the challenges of the 21st
\ncentury is a major priority of the current Senate.<\/p>\n
Saraki, according to a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Affairs,
\nMohammed Isa, disclosed this on Monday, while declaring open a one-day
\npublic hearing on a bill to repeal and re-enact the Bankruptcy and
\nInsolvency Act of 1979, organized by the Senate Committee on Banking,
\nInsurance and Other FinancialInstitutions, in Abuja.<\/p>\n
It was on that basis, he said, the Senate has prioritized business
\nenvironment reform that would create more jobs and opportunities for the
\nyouths, promote and sustain domestic entrepreneurs, as well as to attract
\nnew investors into the country.<\/p>\n
He said, “we believe that it is important for us to continue the process of
\nstrengthening Nigeria\u2019s business-related legislations by examining our
\nbankruptcy laws. This is because global best practices have taught us that
\nthe bedrock of modern competitive economies is based on free entry and
\nfree exit.<\/p>\n
“This would also mean that for free exit to be orderly in the event of
\nlosses, Nigeria needs stronger bankruptcy and insolvency laws to guide the
\nprocess that would ensure that such firms that incur losses can easily
\nbreak even and exit the markets using several market tools and
\nintervention mechanisms”.<\/p>\n
Insolvency system and practice, the Senate President said, played an
\nimportant role in attracting both domestic and foreign investments, as
\nwell as promoting investments and entrepreneurial development, adding
\nthat, “given these opportunities, there is urgent need for us to repeal
\nand re-enact this Act which has become obsolete and out-dated”.
\n\u00fd
\nSaraki, while reiterating the commitment of the Senate in delivering on its
\nlegislative agenda to enable the executive to effectively undertake the
\ndiversification of the economy and expand people\u2019s opportunity to
\ncontribute to better governance, noted that, “however, this requires all
\nhands on deck; we cannot do this alone.”<\/p>\n
The Senate’s public hearings, he said, “are crucial avenues for us to
\ndistil public opinion and check the pulse of the nation over our policies
\nand activities. Our objective is to provide our people with the needed
\nspace to participate in our lawmaking processes. These hearings are very
\nimportant to us, as overtime, the input of actors from various fields and
\ndiverse backgrounds on particular legislative issues, have given our work
\nhere at the National Assembly, consensus and depth.<\/p>\n
” As we settle in to consider the issue before us at this session on the
\nBankruptcy and Insolvency Act, our contributions to the discussion of the
\nday, must be guided by the fact that Nigeria is undergoing change; a
\nre-evaluation, re-definition, and re-construction across all sectors of
\nour lives”.<\/p>\n
Earlier in his address, chairman of the committee, Senator Rafiu Adebayo
\nIbrahim said the bill was targeted at re-vitalising and enhancing the
\noperational frameworks on bankruptcy and insolvency matters to strengthen
\ntheir applicability in addressing challenges in line with international
\nbest practices.<\/p>\n
The event, Ibrahim said, was not aimed at witch-hunting, but rather to
\ngenerate authentic information to enhance and guide the committee.<\/p>\n
“Conceptually, bankruptcy is a successful legal procedure that results
\nfrom an application to the relevant court by a legal entity or a person to
\nhave themselves declared bankrupt or by a creditor of a legal entity or
\nperson in order to have the legal entity declared bankrupt. It could also
\nimply a special resolution which legal entity files with the Registrar of
\nCompanies in order to be declared bankrupt,” he said.<\/p>\n
The bill, which he said was referred to the committee on November 3, 2015
\nis made up of 13 parts rendered in 269 clauses, an improvement on the
\nexisting Act with 143 clauses, most of which have become outdated and
\ncould not sustain contemporary developments and changes.<\/p>\n
Among stakeholders that attended the public hearing were office of the
\nAttorney General of the Federation, Asset Management Corporation (AMCON)
\nMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Nigerian Bar
\nAssociation, National Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), among others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has said the repositioning of the Nigerian economy to effectively meet the challenges of the 21st century is a major priority of the current…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n