Governor El-Rufai commends Uba Sani, Datti for promoting restructuring agenda at NASS
- Two representatives of Kaduna Central at the NASS, Senator Uba Sani and Garba Datti have been commended by Governor Nasir El-Rufai
- Governor El-Rufai said the contributions of the lawmakers at the upper and the lower chamber are felt by the people of the state
- According to him, there won't be any true federalism without the efforts of the NASS
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Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna state, has commended the lawmaker representing Kaduna Central senatorial district at the Senate, Uba Sani and his counterpart at the House of Representatives, Garba Datti for spearheading efforts to enact into law the recommendations of the APC true federalism committee.
In a statement signed by Muyiwa Adekeye, the special adviser to the governor on media and communication and seen by Legit.ng, Elrufai thanked Uba Sani and Datti for demonstrating that the National Assembly is the critical institution for the vital task of restructuring Nigeria by passing laws devolving powers to its federating units.
The governor described the four bills sponsored by Uba Sani to ensure the decentralisation of policing in Nigeria as a significant movement in removing the anomaly of a unitary police force in a federal republic.
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He said the bill proposed by Datti seeking to move labour matters into the concurrent list is another concrete step towards the devolution of power in the country.
El-Rufai noted that decentralisation of the judiciary, police and labour matters are among the items recommended by the APC true federalism committee.
He said this entails moving the constitutional provisions on these matters wholly or partly from the exclusive list to the concurrent list, so that powers and responsibility for them can be devolved.
The governor said:
"The other issues include mines and minerals, registration of business names, prisons, stamp duties, railways, fingerprints and identification and foods and drugs."
He recalled that the APC true federalism committee noted in its January 2018 report that a major issue with the Nigerian federation is the enormous exclusive legislative powers of the federal government with resultant over-centralisation of power and authority.
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He said:
"It is generally believed that a further decentralisation of some of these powers by devolving more powers, autonomy, and resources to the federating units will foster efficiency and sub-national responsiveness and local accountability."
El-Rufai recounted that the committee reported that there were calls that each state should freely legislate on its minimum wage according to the resources available to it but should avoid huge disparity between salaries and emoluments.
The governor added:
"The committee recommends this should be adopted as each state should be free to decide on its level of remuneration based on its resources and productivity. In fact, the committee is of the view that all labour relational issues should be federalised and each state is free to determine its own labour laws.
"Such devolved powers on labour matters will include trade unions, industrial relations, conditions, safety and welfare of labour, industrial disputes, prescribing minimum wage and industrial arbitration."
El-Rufai urged the leadership and membership of the two chambers of the National Assembly to expeditiously enact the bills into law with adequate regulatory standards and safeguards to enable state and community policing throughout Nigeria, uphold labour rights and promote efficient industrial relations.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that Senator Sani urged the people of the state to lend their full weight behind Governor Nasir El-Rufai's war against banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, and allied crimes.
It was reported that the lawmaker explained that the El-Rufai administration has since moved from agonizing over the incessant attacks on communities to an 'all-out assault on criminal elements' with a determination to win the war.
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Wale Akinola is a passionate journalist and researcher. He works as a senior political/current affairs editor at Legit.ng. He holds both B.A and Master’s degree in Communications and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan. He also holds a Diploma Certificate in Peace Journalism. He has over 15 years of work experience in both print and online media. He derives joy in keeping the public abreast of current happenings locally and internationally through his writings.
Source: Legit.ng
