Abuja – The bill for an act to establish National Poverty Eradication Commission, sponsored by Sen. Ibrahim Gobir (APC-Sokoto East), passed second reading in the Senate on Thursday.
Leading the debate, Gobir said the establishment of the commission became necessary due to increased poverty among Nigerians and the need to coordinate and monitor poverty eradication activities in Nigeria.
According to him, the commission, among other things, will help to cushion the effects of poverty among Nigerians through outreach with international donor organisations.
He said “the Bill seeks to establish a poverty eradication commission as a statutory body to coordinate and monitor all poverty activities in Nigeria.
“It is also to maintain an outreach with international donor organisations and quarterly inform Nigerians of the percentage of poverty reduction or increase as the case may be.”
In his contributions, Sen. Barnabas Gemade (APC-Benue North East), said that in spite efforts to eradicate poverty through the creation of National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP), many Nigerians wallowed in abject poverty.
He called on the present administration to put good measures in place to increase the standard of living in the country.
He said that “the new government during election campaign said it would deal with the issue of the down trodden and this had been captured in the 2016
budget, with N500 billion allocated to social welfare.
“However, there are no details on how this policy will be implemented. This bill is, therefore, timely because it will help the government to come up with a framework on how to implement the policy.”
The Deputy Leader of the Senate, Sen. Bala Ibn Na’Allah, commended Gobir for coming up with the Bill, adding that it could not have come at a better time.
He expressed concern that there had not been a defined method of dealing with unemployment in the country.
He said “it is a known fact that government cannot employ 70 per cent of the Nigerian population, the private sector has to assist.
“This has made the distribution of wealth to be largely based on corruption over the years.
‘’Now that the present administration is fighting corruption, there should be government intervention in specific terms to help the poor.
“I am happy for the bill and I call for support to expedite its passage to ensure a level of cushioning for the people to at least afford three square meals per day.”
Sen. Jibrin Barau (APC-Kano North) said that the level of poverty in the country posed threat to security and peaceful coexistence.
He said “creating the commission is a good initiative that should be supported by all because when created, it will help to remind policy makers the importance of poverty eradication.”
In his remarks, the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, said all hands must be on deck to reduce poverty to the barest minimum.
She said “I believe this is a serious matter, a hungry man is an angry man. We must do everything possible to reduce poverty to the barest minimum in this country with the redistribution of wealth.
“The gap between the rich and the poor is unacceptable. We must follow the example of other democracies, especially in Europe, where the tax regime is in average of about 40 per cent.”
The lawmaker them called for an improved tax regime to help the poor, adding that “in West Africa, Nigeria has the lowest VAT regime.
“We must find a way of taxing luxury goods to generate income to fund this commission, redistribute wealth and resources.
“Some people are gifted, some are blessed with wealth, it is therefore important they share this wealth with the poor in the society.”
Meanwhile, the Bill had been referred to the Committee on National Planning and the Committee on Economic and Poverty Eradication
for more legislative action and to be returned to Senate in four weeks. (NAN)