The Senate on Wednesday, January 13, 2016, moves to stop Federal Executive Council (FEC) to stop approving contracts.

This was said while the senators were
deliberating on a motion titled: Urgent need
to empanel the National Council on Public
Procurement of Nigeria.
Ali Ndume, one of the sponsors of the motion
and the Senate leader strongly spoke against
the council and said the Senate needs to
encourage what is right.
He said: “The FEC is not supposed to be an
awarding body. This government will welcome
the idea that the senate is encouraging it to
do the right thing and saddle with the
responsibility to do what the Federal Executive
Council is doing.
“We have to change the ways things are done
so it can be done properly.
Adamu Aliero representing Kebbi central
senatorial district, who was also in support of
what Ndume said, said the council should
instead of awarding contracts formulate
policies that are meant to set direction and
focus.
The Senate also urged the federal government
to urgently and officially set up the National
Council of Public Procurement to give life and
meaning to the Public Procurement Act. This
is in order to achieve the laudable objectives
for which the act came into being.
Bukola Saraki, the Senate president, who
expressed his satisfaction in the motion said
the council should be set up immediately.
He also said that the committees should look
at the appropriate places for review.
Meanwhile, a bill for an act to amend the
Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund
Act passed its second reading.
The bill seeks to promote commercial
agriculture in Nigeria and ensure credit
support for production, storage, processing of
target commodities, markets and enterprise
development to provide concessionary funding
for agriculture and for other related matters.
It was referred to the committee on
agriculture to report back to the Senate in
four weeks.