HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA. Tuesday 7 th December, 2010 PRESENTATION OF PUBLIC PETITIONS. The House met at a.m.

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1 1857 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA Tuesday 7 th December, 2010 The House met at a.m. PRAYERS (The Speaker in the Chair) VOTES AND PROCEEDINGS The Speaker: Hon. Members, the House is called to order. I have examined and approved the Votes and Proceedings of Thursday, 2 nd December ANNOUNCEMENTS Visit of Legislators from Mokwa/ Lavun/ Edati Federal Constituency The Speaker: We have in the Gallery legislators from Mokwa, Lavun and Edati Federal Constituency of Niger State. Can the legislators, please, stand up for recognition? (The visiting Legislators accordingly stood up for recognition) Good morning. You are welcome. Please sit down. Meeting of Committee Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen with the Minister of Finance There will be a meeting of all Committee Chairmen and Deputies with the Minister of Finance on Budget Briefing today in Room 0228 at 2.00 p.m. South-West Caucus Meeting There will be a meeting of the South West Caucus of the House of Representatives tomorrow, Wednesday, 8 th December, 2010 at the usual venue. All Reports listed for Consideration today to be taken tomorrow 1858 The Speaker: Chairman, Committee on Rules and Business, please note all Reports listed for consideration in the Order Paper of today will be taken tomorrow. The House will only consider Reports tomorrow; there will neither be Motions nor Bills. PRESENTATION OF PUBLIC PETITIONS The Speaker: Any Member that is desirous of presenting a Petition before this honourable House may, please, rise to do so. (No response) MATTER OF URGENT PUBLIC IMPORTANCE MOTION Political Crisis arising from the recent Election held in Cote d Ivoire The Speaker: The first Order of the Day is A Motion from Hon. Falade Ajibade. Hon. Falade Ajibade, you have the Floor. Hon. Falade Ajibade (Ede North/Ede South/ Egbedore/Ejigbo): Mr. Speaker, if I am allowed, I want to take as a Matter of Urgent Public Importance, the issue of political Crisis in the Republic of Cote d Ivoire. As we are all aware Cote d Ivoire is a strategic country in the West African sub-region. It has been bedevilled of recent with serious political problems arising from their last general elections. As at today there are two Presidents in that country. Funny enough, the incumbent President, Laurent Laurent Gbagbo is clinging on to power despite the fact that the electoral body of that country has declared Alassane Quattara as the rightful winner of the election recently held in that country. This situation has led to a kind of political logjam to the extent that lives and properties of the people of that country including 1.8 million Nigerians living there are in jeopardy. With the leave of the House, I want this matter to be taken as a matter of urgent public importance today. Resolved: That the House do consider this matter as one of Urgent Public Importance. Hon. Falade Ajibade: I want to pray that the House do stand down Order VIII Rule 4(3) of our 1

2 1859 Standing Orders to allow me take the matter immediately. The Rule says: If the claim is allowed by the Speaker, and the leave of the House is given by majority of all Members present, the matter shall stand over till the next Legislative Day. Hon. Igwe Paulinus Nwagu (Ezza-North/Ishielu): I rise to second the Motion moved by Hon. Falade Ajibade. Resolved: That the House do suspend Order VIII, Rule 4(3) of our Standing Orders to enable the House debate the matter forthwith. The Speaker: Hon. Ajibade you have the Floor. Hon. Falade Ajibade: I want to inform this hallowed Chamber that the Republic of Cote d Ivoire is experiencing an unpleasant political situation as at today. Cote d Ivoire is an African country that became independent in That country enjoyed a lot of political goodwill for a very long time. However, in recent years, there have been persistent clamour by the people of that country for a general election after the Laurent Gbagbo had remained in power for upward of 12 years. Of recent, he concurred and a general election was organised in that country. Close watchers of developments in that country know that recently that there was no clear winner in the election. One Henri Konan Bedie had 24 per cent of the total vote cast; Laurent Gbagbo had about 37 per cent while Alassane Quattara had 34 per cent. In an event like that, there was the need for a run-off election, which has just been held. The result of the run-off election showed that the opposition party led by Alassane Quattara won the election with about 54 per cent of the total vote cast. The electoral body in that country went ahead and announced Alassane Quattara as the democratically elected President of that country but the incumbent President having all the paraphernalia of office cornered the result, called a constitutional conference at his own instance and declared himself elected President. A situation like this has led to the emergence of two Presidents in the Republic of Cote d Ivoire The United Nations, about three days ago, had gone ahead to recognise Alassane Quattara but the incumbent President is still clinging on to power thus creating a very tense atmosphere in that country. As I speak, curfew has been imposed in Cote d Ivoire and my interest is that of the lives and properties of Nigerians living in that country. As I stand here today, confirmed statistics has it that there are about 1.8 million Nigerians living in that country out of which 70 per cent of them are from my constituency. It may interest you to know that the migration of our people to that country dated back to the last century; one cannot really explain the reason but I stand to be corrected that the people of my constituency living in Cote d Ivoire today are about 1.4 million some of whom are 70 years old. Many of them were born in that country and are still living there. They do not live there permanently; they come home at intervals and they have cause to contribute one way or the other to the socio-economic development of my constituency. My fear is that in the event of any unrest in that country as we have seen in the last five years when some of the military boys took to arms, the resultant effect on my constituency is unpalatable. Therefore, the fear that if this present trend is not checked, it may result in another form of crisis or war leading to untold hardship on my people and it would overstretch the social and economic facilities in my area so much so that there might be outbreak of cholera and other epidemic. Therefore, there is need for us to urgently urge the Federal Government of Nigeria to intervene diplomatically through the United Nations, African Union and ECOWAS to see that a solution is brought about immediately so as to protect the lives and properties of Nigerian in that country. Hon. Halims O. Agoda (Ethiope East/Ethiope West): Mr. Speaker, first, it is indeed a shame realising the very dangerous signal that is coming from an African State like Cote d Ivoire when as a people and indeed as a continent we should be in a position to demonstrate that we can stand on our own, as a democratic continent and as a people that can lead the world. 2

3 1861 What is coming out from Cote d Ivoire; having two people sworn in as President at the same time, may lead to civil war in that country. Therefore, realising from the concept of universal brotherhood, Africans, we are all the same. Cote d Ivoire is part of Africa. There is the need therefore for Cote d Ivoire to demonstrate the very salient and good example of African nations. There is the need for the AU and ECOWAS sub region organizations headed currently by our dear President to intervene and ensure that this spirit of sit-down concept embarked upon by many African Presidents is eliminated. It is completely unacceptable that elections well monitored both by the good people of Cote d Ivoire and international partners; United Nations and European Union putting together their collective judgment that the opposition party won that election. Therefore, there is the need to respect the rule of law which the Constitution of that country prescribes. As a Parliament, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that there should be peace in all parts of Africa. Therefore, this distinguished Assembly should urge the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to demonstrate that political will and leadership by standing very firm and give firm commitment and directives to the Cote d Ivoire sit-down President to respect the rule of law and create harmony in that country. Hon. Mohammed Ali Ndume (Chibok/ Damboa/ Gwoza): I commend the mover of this Motion for being timely and precise. We are all aware of what is happening in Ivory Coast. I do not need to go over it but most importantly we are also aware that the United Nations, African Union and European Union have all condemned the action of the former President Laurent Gbagbo over his refusal to accept the results of the election he did not win. We are equally aware of the situation Cote d Ivoire has been facing prior to the ward. There was civil unrest all over the country and the African Union had to send over 1,000 peacekeepers in order to maintain peace there and to provide the conducive environment to conduct the election that transpired. We are also aware that South Africa has taken a bold step by sending its former President Thambo Mbeki to intervene. We are also aware that the United State has issued a categorical statement on its position as to the outcome of the election in that country and we all know that Nigeria is one of the leading countries in Africa and there is high expectation on Nigeria and by 1862 extension the House of Representatives for being always proactive. I urge my Colleagues to fashion out a resolution that would send a strong signal that this honourable House stands by the decision of the whole world that in election there must be a loser and winner and since it has been credibly announced that Alassane Quattara is the winner of that election, we must act fast to ensure that the verdict of the people of Ivory Coast is respected as it is being respected by the whole world. Hon. C.I.D. Maduabum (Nnewi North/ South/Ekwusigo): This issue is a very serious one. Cote d Ivoire is a member of ECOWAS and the President of Nigeria is the President of ECOWAS and therefore we have a duty, more important duty than AU and EU because this is our sub region. The question is what we need to do as a nation and as ECOWAS. In the 1980s when such kind of problem rose in Liberia, ECOMOG handled it. I am not saying we should send armed forces to Cote d Ivoire but the Chairman of ECOWAS must use not only diplomatic means but any other means at his disposal to right the wrongs of Cote d Ivoire. ECOWAS should activate its mechanism to deal with this problem. We have our aircrafts, a few demonstration of strength would send relevant message to them that this is a serious matter. We are also going to have our election in Nigeria, so a standard has to be set as to what is acceptable not only to Nigerians but to Africa in general. I therefore ask the ECOWAS Chairman to activate the ECOMOG to deal with the problem. Hon. Shuaibu Hashimu Abdullahi (Awe/ Doma/Keana): I stand to support and commend the mover of this Motion which is timely and well considered. The regrettable action by the outgoing President of Cote d Ivoire is something that the biggest Parliament in West Africa which is the Nigerian Parliament, should come out and voice out its position clearly and unmistakably. What is happening in Cote d Ivoire after the delay tactics by the President who for so many years killed the democratic institutions in that country including the Parliament which led to their suspension from various inter-parliamentary associations and the Pan African Parliament. It is unfortunate that after he has finally agreed to hold election, he was very unwilling to vacate office using whatever means at his disposal. 3

4 1863 What he is doing is the continuation of the trend in some African countries such as Zimbabwe, Kenya and so on whereby incumbents when they lost election, refused to vacate office, waiting for a stalemate to be created and some negotiators to come and say all right, you and the winner should come and form coalition government, national unity government, government of national reconciliation et cetera. Considering the fact that the incumbent President, Laurent Gbagbo lost election but does not want to leave office, we should really make an example that in Cote d Ivoire this will not be allowed. ECOWAS should suspend that country from ECOWAS like it did in the case of Niger when the President refused to abide by the constitution of that country and any other stiff penalties or measures that ECOWAS, AU and the whole world will take against Cote d Ivoire to ensure that Laurent Gbagbo leaves office and he is not allowed to perpetuate himself. Hon. Arua Arunsi (Arochukwu/Ohafia): Mr. Speaker, I identify myself with what my hon. Colleagues have said. This goes to show that what corrupts it not really the power; it is the fear of losing power that corrupts and what has happened in Cote d Ivoire is a very good example. We must be very careful to nip this problem from the bud. Otherwise, Nigeria is going to spend so much money on ECOMOG when it degenerates. Therefore, let us condemn it right now. Let Laurent Gbagbo step down; he has lost. We cannot that way. I am completely in support of this Motion. Hon. Bala Ibn Na Allah (Zuru/Fakai/ Sakaba/D/Wasagu): First of all, I disagree with my bosom Friend, Hon. Shuabu that Cote d Ivoire be suspended from ECOWAS. To me, Cote d Ivoire today has a legally constituted government in place because pursuant to its Electoral Act it has a duly constituted body to conduct election in Cote d Ivoire. In the discharge of its duties that body conducted an election and announced a President who has been duly sworn in. To me, the legal President as far as I am concerned and as far as the law is concerned is the one announced by the electoral body of that country. It, therefore, means that Cote d Ivoire today has a President in the name of Quattarra (Interruption) The Speaker: Hold on, Hon. Ibn Na Allah. Has Alassane Quattarra been sworn in? 1864 An hon. Member: Both Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Quattara have been sworn in. The Speaker: That is interesting. Hon. Bala Ibn Na Allah: The fact that some group of anti-democratic forces in defiance of democratic principle have gone to swear in somebody who has not won an election is as bad as nothing has happened. As far as I am concerned, legally the former President stands as former President. He does not possess any legal authority to exercise any power as President of Cote d Ivoire. What I think the prayer of this House should be is to call on democratic governments all over the world to recognise Quattara as the President of Cote d Ivoire having been duly sworn in in accordance with the law of that country. I do not see any reason why that country should be suspended or should go into negotiation with the former President. There should be no negotiation whatsoever under this situation. African leaders must be encouraged to understand the fact that democracy is supposed to bring freedom and development to people and where by their actions they deter that from coming to people, I think we should begin to think of other measures to be taken as against this kind of people. This is a straightforward matter. The President of this country, being the President of ECOWAS should call on all other ECOWAS member-countries to recognise the duly constituted government in Cote d Ivoire. Hon. Igochukwu Aguma (Port Harcourt I): The argument has been canvassed properly but I need to correct the premise on which my senior, Hon. Ibn Na Allah has said Cote d Ivoire should not be suspended from ECOWAS. Indeed, it should be. The reason is that the Chief Judge of the country swore in Laurent Gbagbo whereas the Prime Minister swore in Quattara, the person that won the election. Therefore, that clearly underscores the danger in the system. It is indeed a crisis that is an aberration of the Constitution. That is why a quick constitutional conference had to be convened at the instance of the President that did not win election. Hon. Sama ila A. Mohammed (Bassa/Jos North): As the last speaker said, the constitutional arrangement in Cote d Ivoire is radically different from what obtains in Nigeria and most other Common Law jurisdictions. 4

5 1865 In Cote d Ivoire you have the constitutional court and the constitutional court has sworn in Mr. Laurent Gbagbo as the President of Cote d Ivoire in line with their Constitution. The Prime Minister of Cote d Ivoire has no power under the Constitution of Cote d Ivoire to swear in Alassane Quattara as the President. The electoral Commission of Cote d Ivoire has pronounced Alassane Quattara as the President and the Prime Minister has sworn him in. Under the Constitution of Alassane Quattara, the Prime Minister does not have the power and competence to swear in anybody as a Prime Minister. So we must be very careful in the way we approach this issue. When we emphasise the issue of rule of law, constitutionality and constitutionalism let us allow constitutionality, constitutionalism and rule of law to operate in Cote d Ivoire. We must remove sentiment because what happened in Cote d Ivoire was exactly what happened in Nigeria and we allowed the courts to pronounce and we took a cue from there. So allow what the courts have done in Cote d Ivoire to take effect. Hon. Ita Enang (Itu/Ibiono Ibom): I want to speak on the matter. The matter is whether or not Cote d Ivoire should be suspended from ECOWAS. I want to pray the House to take the position that it will not be right for this House to resolve that the country be suspended from ECOWAS. This is because if you suspend that country from ECOWAS then ECOWAS may at that time not be firmly rooted in trying to solve the problem of that country as it is doing now. The ECOWAS Community is meeting today under the Chairmanship of President Ebele Jonathan of Nigeria and they are going to take decisions on it. The position we should take is that let all democratic institutions and all governments try to find a solution to the problem of that country and not to excise that country because it is not the problem of the citizens of that country; it is a problem created by the leadership of that country. Hon. Patrick Oziokoja Asadu (Nsukka/Igboeze South): I rise to also lend my voice to the concerns expressed by Members of this Parliament on the impasse in Cote d Ivoire. I actually feel concerned that sometimes we have very good intentions in trying to intervene in countries where there are political developments that tend to 1866 portray Africa in very bad light but contributions from Colleagues sometimes also show that we are not given the full picture of what is happening in those countries. As a Member of the ECOWAS Parliament, I have been able to discuss with a lot of Members from Cote d Ivoire and I understand that the problem in Cote d Ivoire is not just a straight-line loser refusing to leave. There was an electoral body and there is also a constitutional court. The electoral body is supposed to be below the constitutional court in their own Constitution. Therefore, the proclamation of who is actually the overall winner of an election at the presidential level rests with the constitutional court. It is something we have to read; it is something we have to find facts. As much as possible we all want to appear more democratic than democracy itself. What I want this Parliament to be guided fully about is that we should not be taking positions that tend suggest beyond this Parliament that we do not have the full picture of what is going on. While I am not in a position to say that the constitutional court is right or wrong in proclaiming the sitting President as winner, I think that the Nigerian Parliament should be taking a position to urge the Federal Government first as the leader of ECOWAS for now and more as a very big player in the African Union which has sent Tambo Mbeki to mediate to also go after the full facts of what happened in Cote d Ivoire election and allow their own law to guide who remains President of Cote d Ivoire. Hon. Emmanuel Bello (Gombi/Hong): Cote d Ivoire is a nation that has diplomatic relationship with Nigeria and, therefore, when we want to take decision in Parliament we should be very careful and play on the sensitivities of what is happening in Cote d Ivoire. What is happening in Cote d Ivoire is an internal struggle between those who call themselves Ivorians and the non-ivorians. Yes, they claim Quattara is not an Ivorian. They say so but this is a man who was a Prime Minister and just when he was going to be President, they say he was non-ivorian. The politics has so sharply divided them into two. So they are accusing the head of the electoral body that he is also a non-ivorian. That was why he declared Quattara President. Let us play the way South Africa is playing. Let us find out what is happening in Cote d Ivoire and try to bring the two factions together because they are a nation that is so strategic in West Africa and being the 5

6 1867 leader of West Africa, we have to really harness the unity of Cote d Ivoire. We should not go pronouncing on the sensitivities of that nation. I urge Parliament to examine this issue deeply so that we do not pronounce what will further aggravate the problem. Hon. Jumoke Okoya-Thomas (Lagos Island I): The issue at hand is who won the election? We all know that democracy is about the government of the people by the people and for the people. The people have spoken. They have decided on who their leader should be. That came in the name of Quattara. Mr. Quattara has not been sworn yet. I believe in the rule of law and things should be done properly so that we do not have anarchy. Right now, I believe that Nigeria should intervene. I would suggest Nigeria should form a pressure group through the ECOWAS to make sure that the person sitting there as the leader right now should step down because he is not the true winner of the election. The winner recognized by the international community should be sworn in. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (Surulere I): I just want to correct some facts or opinions that have been stated. We all know that under International Law, practices and norms we have proper jurisdiction to debate this matter. The issue at hand is not whether the person that was declared is an Ivorian or a madman. Whoever the people elect; whether he has half a brain or he is an Ivorian or not is the issue. A statement was made that the electoral body is subservient to a constitutional court. Nowhere in the world is an electoral body, and that is what we are striving for in Nigeria, is independent of any arm of government or any court. It is that electoral body that is constitutionally empowered to declare the winner in any contest. Once that is done, it behoves whoever has the authority to swear in to follow those directions. That is an aspect of democracy in any organised society. Whether the Chief Justice swore in the incumbent President or not is not the issue. The question is; did he have the authority to swear in the incumbent government without a formal and proper declaration by the only body that is constitutionally authorised to so declare; these are the issues and they are very clear. Other tangential issues as to the politics of Cote d Ivoire and so on are irrelevant and have no place 1868 when you put the law in a straightjacket. Who declared, who has the power to declare, who swore in, could he swear in in a vacuum; the answer is no. These are the issues that we should consider. The Speaker: I will now put the question. The mover of the Motion has two prayers: Urge the Federal Government to liaise with the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and relevant international bodies as a matter of utmost urgency in resolving the impasse; put necessary machinery in motion to protect the lives and property of Nigerians in Cote d Ivoire in an event of the unexpected. Those are the two prayers. Is there any Amendment to the two prayers? (No response) Main The House: Noted that Cote d Ivoire is a strategic country in the West Africa sub-region with economic, political and social relevance to Nigeria and other countries; Further noted that the country is presently bedevilled with political impasse occasioned by the emergence of two Presidents; incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Quattara from the recent general election; Aware that there is a sizeable Nigerian population living in Cote d Ivoire whose lives and property are endangered by the crisis that may escalate and result in anarchy; Further aware of the political and military implications of the ensuing crisis if not nipped in the bud; going by the Liberian experience; Worried about the fate of Nigerians whose lives and property may be affected in the event of anarchy in Cote d Ivoire; Further worried at the implication of evacuating and resettling these Nigerians in their country of origin should the need arise; 6

7 1869 Resolved to: (i) (ii) Urge the Federal Government to liaise with the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), European Union (EU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other relevant international bodies as a matter of utmost urgency in resolving the impasse; put necessary machinery in motion to protect the lives and property of Nigerians in Cote d Ivoire. ANNOUNCEMENT Visit of the National Association of Delta State Students Plateau State Polytechnic Chapter The Speaker: Before we move to the next Order of the Day I would like to make this announcement. We have in the Gallery National Association of Delta State Students, Plateau State Polytechnic Chapter. Could you stand up for recognition, please? (Members of the Plateau State Chapter of the Association stood up for recognition) You are most welcome. Please, sit down. ORDERS OF THE DAY MOTIONS Need to Check the Use of Hazardous Lead Contained Paint by Nigerians The Speaker: The next Order of the Day is a Motion on a Need to Check the Use of Hazardous Lead Contained Paint by Nigerians. Hon. Beni Lar, you have the Floor. Hon. Beni Lar (Langtang North/ Langtang South): I stand to move the Motion on the Need to Check the Use of Hazardous Lead Contained Paint by the Government of Nigeria. The House: Notes that the production of paints in Nigeria contains the highest percentage of lead in the world; 1870 Aware of studies which have revealed that the presence of lead in paint constitutes a serious health hazard to children and adults as captured in the Daily Independent Newspaper of 4th January, 2010 and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and Safety Alert Document No. 5054; Also aware of further studies conducted by the Sustainable Research and Action for Environment and Development (SRADEV), which revealed that Nigerian paint contains 129,837 ppm lead which is over 100 per cent above the international acceptance limit of 90 ppm; Concerned that Nigeria has no known standard or legal limit for ascertaining lead in paint and consequently, the general public is left at the mercy of paint manufacturers who produce in gross violation and abuse of global limit or international best practice; Regrets that the paint manufacturers have placed profit making ahead of the general health of our citizenry; Disturbed that research and examination conducted on children exposed to lead in Lagos revealed that lead based paint is hazardous to human health and is capable of causing lead poisoning leading to irreversible brain damage and can impair mental functioning; Resolves to: (i) (ii) I so move. urge the Federal Ministry of Environment to design a framework to detect and ensure that the regulations to eliminate the use of lead in paint in line with the 2nd International Conference on Chemical Management of which Nigeria was among the more than one hundred countries that endorsed a global partnership to eliminate lead are complied with; direct the Committee on Environment to investigate the matter and make recommendations to the House within two weeks. Hon. Mohammed Ahmed Al-Makura (Lafai/ Obi): Mr. Speaker, I stand to second the Motion moved by Hon. Beni Lar. 7

8 1871 Hon. Beni Lar: It is the responsibility of government to safeguard the health and the lives of all its citizens. I must say that the presence of lead in most of our products is useful and necessary. However, lead can be toxic if used in large quantities and above the international acceptance limits. The international acceptance limits is 90 ppm. However, in Nigeria we have gone way above that. Samples taken by the Sustainable Research, Environment and Development Group in Lagos showed samples of lead in paints which is way above international acceptance limits. The dangers of lead are many but one of the key dangers is the health hazard it poses to children and adults. In children below the age of 6 it causes nervous disorders, brain disorders, mental impairment, retardation, headache, inability to concentrate and learning disability, among others. Most importantly it causes reproductive problems for children starting from an early age; it is stored in the body and when the male children reach the age of reproduction you will find out that some of them become impotent and when the female children reach the age of reproduction many of them have problems with development of the foetus which leads to miscarriages. It is also known to cause hypertension, cancer and many other health risks as a result of heavy leaded paint that is used in our homes and public buildings. The United State recently lowered the amount of lead based paints from 0.9 per cent which is the international acceptance limits to 0.6 per cent. They have even gone below and the United Kingdom has banned outright the use of lead in all of its paints because of its danger. This Motion seeks to draw the attention of this House for a need for Federal regulation so that paint manufacturers who are after profit would be regulated and there would be a limit to what they manufacture. Imported paints also contain a lot of hazardous lead and this must be stopped. Another important factor is the fact that there is no agency that is responsible for monitoring the use of harmful lead in paint. I would like to urge this House to direct the Committee on Environment to investigate this matter and report to the House in two weeks and also to get the Ministry of Environment to set up a unit or agency that will regulate the use of lead in paint not only in 1872 paint but in water and in vehicles. Wherever lead is used, let us use it to the acceptable limit. Hon. Elizabeth Ogbaga (Ohaukwu/ Ebonyi): I rise to support the Motion made by my Colleague, Hon. Beni Lar. There is a saying that a stitch in time saves nine. The recent lead poisoning in the North showed us that lead has a lot of influence on human life and if paint which is used on a daily basis contains excess lead as my sister rightly said, it means that most of us will be affected sooner or later because all of us live in painted houses. I am in support of my Colleague that the Ministry of Environment should look into it very critically. Hon. Nnenna Ijeoma E. Ukeje (Bende): Mr. Speaker, I will not stand here for one minute and be all self-righteous or sit down here and imagine that I do not empathise the plight of our manufacturers, paint and otherwise because I know that it is very difficult and expensive today to turn a profit with manufacturing but the question is at what cost? Everywhere in the world, people have started to talk about the hazardous effects of lead. Of course, we know that lead in paint helps make the paint brighter. Not only that, it makes it look more attractive and increases the quick drying process but what is the disadvantage of having lead in our paint? The truth of the matter is that irrespective of what we say today, the life expectancy of the average Nigeria is put at 49 years. The Speaker: 47 years. Hon. Nnenna Ijeoma Ukeje: I will not be here to argue with you but from the research conducted, it is 49 per cent. Research from the University of Ibadan stated that we are over 98 per cent of the acceptable lead limit in the world. What does lead do to us? Lead increases mortality in our children. It reduces productivity in women and it actually reduces your sperm count, which means that the hazardous effect of lead in paint cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, without taking too much time of the House I will like to lend my voice to this Motion and I would ask my Colleagues to, please, support it because we really cannot put profit over and above life. 8

9 1873 Hon. Emmanuel Bello (Gombi/Hong): Mr. Speaker, I give credit to the mover of this Motion because at this time in our history we have seen what lead has done especially to children in Zamfara State and at this time this Motion is well packaged. The Parliament should support it and investigate its content and ensure that paints are produced within the acceptable limits. The content of lead in paints should be within the international limit as put by the mover of this Motion. The Speaker: Hon. Olajumoke Okoya-Thomas, do you have something to add? Hon. Olajumoke Okoya-Thomas: Hon. Speaker, I commend my Colleague, Hon. Beni Lar, for this beautiful Motion. We are all aware and I know that each one of my Colleagues will say that whenever they get into a room just painted, they cannot stand the offensive odour. We all know how hazardous it is to our health and in most cases you will see that it is the poor people that are saddled with the task of painting homes and most of them do not have the money to take care of their health. If you see painters in the developed countries they are always drinking fresh milk to help them to combat whatever they had come across when they are printing these houses. It will interest us to know that whenever a house is freshly painted, we are going to see dead rats and even dead cats around. This goes to show how hazardous lead contained paint is. We really need to sensitise the people and of course we need to get in touch with our manufacturers through our resolution in the House so that they can reduce the lead content in our paints. The Speaker: Thank you. I will now put the question on the Motion. Main The House: Noted that the production of paint in Nigeria contains the highest percentage of lead in the world; Aware of studies which have revealed that the presence of lead in paint constitutes a serious health hazard to children and adults as captured in the Daily Independent newspaper of 4th January, 2010 and US 1874 Consumer Product Safety Commission Safety Alert Document No. 5054; Also aware of further studies conducted by Sustainable Research and Action for Environment Development (SRADEV) which revealed that Nigerian paint contains 129,837 ppm lead which is over 100 per cent above the international acceptance limit of 90 ppm; Concerned that Nigeria has no known standard or legal limit for ascertaining lead in paint and consequently, the general public is left at the mercy of paint manufacturers who produce in gross violation and abuse of global limits or international best practice; Regretted that the paint manufacturers have placed profit making ahead of the general health of our citizenry; Disturbed that research and examination conducted on children exposed to lead in Lagos, revealed that lead based paint is hazardous to human health capable of causing lead poisoning leading to irreversible brain damage and can impair mental functioning; Resolved to: (i) (ii) urge the Federal Ministry of Environment to design a framework to detect and ensure that the regulations to eliminate the use of lead in paint in line with the 2 nd International Conference on Chemical Management of which Nigeria was among the more than 100 countries that endorsed a Global Partnership to eliminate lead are complied with; direct the Committee on Environment to investigate the matter and make recommendations to the House within two weeks. CONSIDERATION OF BILLS Federal Colleges of Education Act, CAP F8, LFN 2004 (Amendment) Bill, 2010 A Bill for an Act to Amend the Federal Colleges of Education Act, CAP F8, LFN 2004 and for Other Related Matters, 2010 (HB. 222) Order for Third Reading. 9

10 1875 The Speaker: My Dear Colleagues, the second Order of the Day is the Third Reading of a Bill for an Act to Amend the Federal Colleges of Education Act, CAP. F8, LFN 2004 and for Other Related Matters, Members would recall that the House adopted the Report of the Committee of the Whole on this Bill on Tuesday, 23 rd November, I therefore call on the Deputy Leader of the House to move that the Bill be read the Third Time. Hon. Baba Shehu Agaie (Agaie/Lapai): I rise to move that a Bill for an Act to Amend the Federal Colleges of Education Act, CAP. F8, LFN 2004 and for Other Related Matters, 2010 be read the Third Time. Hon. Bature Umar (Sokoto North/ Sokoto South): I rise to second the Motion as moved by the Deputy Leader, Hon. Baba Shehu Agaie. Bill read the Third Time and passed. Management of Bio-safety Bill, 2010 A Bill for an Act to Provide for the Management of Bio-safety and for Other Related Matters, 2010 Order for Third Reading. The Speaker: The next Order of the Day is also the Third Reading of a Bill for an Act to Provide for the Management of Bio-safety and for Other Related Matters, The Report was adopted on Tuesday, 20 th July, I therefore call on the Deputy Leader of the House to move that the Bill be read the Third Time. Hon. Baba Shehu Agaie: Mr. Speaker, I rise to move that a Bill for an Act to Provide for the Management of Bio-safety and for Other Related Matters, 2010 be read the Third Time. Hon. Paul Okwudili Eze (Igbo Etiti/Uzo-Uwani): I rise to second the Motion as moved by Hon. Baba Shehu Agaie. Bill read the Third Time and passed. Federal Competition Commission (Establishment) Bill, A Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal Competition Commission and for Purposes Connected Therewith, 2007 (HB. 7) Order for Second Reading. The Speaker: The next Order of the Day is the commencement of Debate on the general principles of a Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal Competition Commission and for Purposes Connected Therewith, Hon. C.I.D. Maduabum, can you move that the Bill be read the Second Time please? Hon. C.I.D. Maduabum: I move that a Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal Competition Commission and for Purposes Connected Therewith, 2007 be read the Second Time. Hon. Zakari Yau Galadima (Bade/ Jakusko): Mr. Speaker, I stand to second the Motion as moved by Hon. C. I. D. Maduabum. Question proposed. Hon. C. I D. Maduabum: Mr. Speaker, this Bill was submitted in 2007 and it has been here for a while. It is essentially to regulate issues of competition, monopoly, mergers and acquisitions in the country. You cannot talk about a market economy, deregulation, privatisation or any such concept in any economy of the world without regulating competitive practices. This is a Bill designed to set up a Commission to control monopolistic practices by firms and organisations; it is the practice in most countries of the world. Specifically, if we go to Section 16(2) of our 1999 Constitution, it states the economic objectives of the nation and with your permission. With the leave of the House, I read: The State shall direct its policy towards ensuring (b) that the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good; (c) that the economics system is not operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or the means of 10

11 1877 production and exchange in the hands of few individuals or a group. In the Second Schedule, Part 1, Section 4, Item 10 of the Exclusive Legislative List, the National Assembly is given exclusive authority over commercial and industrial monopolies combines and trusts. What I am saying is that National Assembly has authority to enact this law because we have been given power to regulate the issue of industrial monopolies and combines. A perusal of the Bill shows clearly the purpose and the purpose basically is to control or eliminate restrictive agreements, arrangements among enterprises, mergers, acquisitions or abuse of dominant positions of market power which limit access to markets or otherwise unduly restrain competition and to establish rules for the protection and promotion of competition in Nigeria. The Bill is also designed to promote the efficiency, adaptability and development in the provision of goods and services with the widest variety at the lowest possible price and the highest standards of quality in Nigeria. The critical issue with respect to competition is that some companies because of their sheer size and economic power dominate a particular market and when you dominate a particular market, it leads to abuse of your market power and abuse of your dominant power. You abuse this power by setting prices for goods and services the way you want. You abuse this power by sometimes undercutting your opponents and competitors and therefore, the consumer is not protected. This Bill is designed to protect the consumer. I will give you an instance. When GSM came to Nigeria recently, we had MTN and ECONET. There was an issue of the tariff - per second billing. MTN and ECONET announced to the whole world that they cannot do per second billing. They made the announcement in August. Globacom came in the following month and introduced per second billing. These two companies in less than two months recanted and introduced per second billing. Why were they forced to do so? It was because of competition. Whereas there are also various regulatory agencies in various sectors like the NCC in Communications and in the Aviation and Electricity Industries but there is not one agency controlling the entire Sector. With this Bill, all the sectoral regulators 1878 will work in harmony so that there will be a very consistent regulatory framework that will deal with competition in Nigeria. This Bill is long overdue in Nigeria. Most of the stakeholders have recommended it. We had expected that there should have been an Executive Bill by now but unfortunately none has come and we cannot keep quiet. Our people and the consumers need to be protected. I urge my Colleagues to allow this Bill to go through Second Reading. Hon. Christopher Sunday Eta (Boki/Ikom): Mr. Speaker, I urge my Colleagues to support this Bill. This Bill, if passed, is going to create a competitive environment for Nigerian businesses and for corporations. It is not only going to regulate the activities of corporations but it will also encourage them to increase capacity and opportunities. What this Bill is trying to do, like the Anti Trust Commission of the United States, is to create a similar platform for business activities because what has been happening here is that we have more or less been having cartels that have been doing businesses and regulating even the pricing, activities and all that. With the establishment of this Commission corporations will be forced to compete among themselves and consumers are going to be the beneficiary of such healthy competition. Sometime ago, when Microsoft came out with a browser it dominated the market to the extent that the Anti Trust Commission had to step in to force Microsoft to share the knowledge with other software providers in order to create opportunities and to bring down the price and also help the consumers. Therefore, I urge my Colleagues here to, please, support this Bill because the enactment of an Anti Trust law to protect the Nigerian business community is long overdue and it will help regulate business activities and help the consumers to benefit from business operations. Hon. Sama ila Mohammed (Bassa/Jos North): I do not think any Member will be opposed to this Bill as has been ably presented by our hon. Colleague but we need to place it properly in context. There are particular industries in which you have uncompetitive practices in such industrial sectors are 11

12 1879 information technology, communication technology and the construction industry which the sponsor of the Bill has already talked about. We do know that Nigeria is the country with the highest construction cost in the world and this is as a result of our uncompetitive practices in the sector. Of course we have problems in the manufacturing sectors. For example - (Interruption) The Speaker: Hold on. Are you saying that Nigeria is the country with the highest construction cost? Hon. Sama ila Mohammed: Yes, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker: Have you been to Angola? Angola is by far the highest. In any case it is high here. Hon. Sama ila Mohammed: This Bill is very important in the sense that it will check the price collusion of participants and also with respect to contract bidding especially of government jobs where we have anti-collusive provisions. Outside that, the Bill that we have before us is a Bill that is modelled on the South Africa environment. When the Committee sits down to work they should be able to look at it very well to remove references to South Africa with respect to their legal environment and their operating economic environment to ensure that the Bill is modelled to suit Nigerian environment. Hon. Sada Soli Jibia (Jibia/Kaita): This legislation is not new to emerging market and developing countries. If you look at the UK and other European markets they are regulated by this kind of legislation. South Africa, United States and Singapore all have this kind of legislation that is regulating their market. We are driving towards 20/2020; we need this kind of legislation to control practices that are having adverse effect in our market. Another general principles of this legislation if it is comes on board is the promotion and sustenance of competition in markets in Nigeria. It will also advise the government and other public authority on national needs and policies in respect of competitive matters annually. So we need this kind of legislation that will serve as a control mechanism as regards the operation of our markets so that we can compete at the same level with other countries that are driving towards becoming one of the twenty most developed economies in the world by Hon. Ita Enang: I want to pray that this House do give positive consideration to this Bill because it is a Bill that will lead to the actual growth of the Nigerian manufacturing industry and will bring sanity to the markets in Nigeria. I want to draw attention to Part III, Clause 8 of the Bill which deals with matters which the Anti- Competition Commission is to regulate. Part of it is to prevent a situation where companies and manufacturers create a cartel and create some other unfavourable conditions and prohibit others from getting into their market or from participating in the production or distribution or regulating the distribution of such goods. My Friend, the Acting Leader of the Minority has drawn attention to what is obtainable in South Africa. This Bill is particularly modelled after the South African Anti-trust and Anti-competition Commission. I also want to draw our attention to Clause 50(1)(d) where such inadvertent reference have been made which says that part of it is to expand opportunities for Nigerian participation in world market while at the same time recognising the role of foreign competition in South Africa. This is part of the reference that he has made and I pray the Committee to which this Bill will be referred will do this. There are two Sections that I have reservations about. One of them is the Section relating to mergers and acquisition. Mergers and acquisition are properly dealt with by the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and to the extent that they are properly dealt with there, the Committee to which this Bill will be referred would have to do a thorough comparism between the provisions of that Act and this before they bring out the clean copy. I also have reservations about the Section that relate to superiority of laws. They have listed other laws there; the Commodities Board Act, Custom Duties Act, Import Prohibition Act, Productivity and Price of Income Boards Act will have to stand repealed or will be inferior to this Act. You do not when you are making a subsequent law say that that law will override the provisions of other Act except and unless you specifically amend the provisions of those Acts. The only law that can override the provisions of a subsequent Act is the Constitution. That is why we say subject to the provisions of the Constitution. 12

13 1881 I want to pray that when they are considering this Bill in the Committee they should particularly consider Clause 47 of the Bill and I pray that this Bill do pass the Second Reading. Hon. Bala Ibn Na Allah (Zuru/ Fakai/ Sakaba/D/Wasagu): First and foremost, this House has a constitutional responsibility to do what this Bill seeks to do and, in fact, it should have been done earlier. Let me just carefully draw your attention to Section 16 (1)(b)(c) and subsection 2(c) and Section 3(a) and particularly Section 16(1)(b) of the Constitution which says: The state shall, within the context of the ideals and objectives for which provisions are made in this Constitution (b) control the national economy in such manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity; (c) without prejudice to its right to operate or participate in areas of the economy other than the major sectors of the economy, manage and operate the major sectors of that economy; (d) without prejudice to the right of any person to participate in areas of the economy within the major sectors of the economy, protect the right of every citizen to engage in any economic activities outside the major sectors of the economy. That is our responsibility to engage in any economic activities outside the major sectors of that economy. In particular, the economy system should not be operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or the means of production and exchange in the hands of few individuals. The only way you can do that is to liberalise every sector of our economy with permission for everybody to get engaged whether in a small way or in a big way but you cannot sit down and say we are association of tanker drivers and, therefore, if you want to distribute kerosene in Kubwa you must belong to that organisation. That is what this trust and competition is all about; all those things will go. That is why today a lot of organisations have been formed in this country that would want to go counter to the established laws of this country If you touch a tanker driver today, they would say they will embark on strike. Even when he is going against the laws of the country; he will say you cannot touch me. So, when we liberalise and set standards for every sector, it now becomes for willing participants to participate in accordance with the laws of our country. More particularly in Section 16(3), it says: A body shall be set up by an Act of the National Assembly which shall have power (a) to review from time to time the ownership and control of business enterprises operating in Nigeria and make recommendation to the President on same. This same body is capable of discharging this constitutional responsibility and, therefore, Nigerians would be better for it. As I said, we have a constitutional responsibility to ensure that every citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on equal, fair, nondiscriminating bases as a right to participate in every business legally in Nigeria and I urge my Colleagues to support this Bill as being canvassed by my Colleague. Hon. Arua Arunsi: Mr. Speaker, this Bill reminds me of the concept of laissez-faire and perestroika in America and Russian respectively. This concept, as a matter of fact, made America great. In other words, capitalism breeds competition. This Bill is long overdue and it is high time we recognise the importance of competition that it breeds success. I identify with my Colleagues. The Speaker: I will put the question on the Second Reading of the Bill. Bill read the Second Time and referred to the Committee on Commerce. Conferees on the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 with Reference to the National Industrial Court, 2010 The Speaker: Hon. Colleagues, I have a list of Conferees on a Bill for an Act to Amend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 with reference to the National Industrial Court: 13