By Olugbenga Salami
Senate on Tuesday considered two critical bills seeking to tackle poverty and put a stop to intellectual property theft in the country.
One of the bills provides for the establishment of the National Poverty Alleviation Management Commission; while the other seeks to re-enact the Patent and Design Act 2021 to revise the existing intellectual property law to prohibit theft.
Both bills scaled second reading during plenary.
The bill to establish the National Poverty Alleviation Management Commission seeks to empower the Commission to coordinate and regulate all forms of poverty alleviation funds.
The bill was sponsored by Senator Kabir Abdullahi Barkiya (APC Katsina Central).
Leading debate on the general principles of the bill, Barkiya said its passage and assent into law “will have tremendous and vital impact on the reduction of poverty level, ravaging the majority of citizens in the country.”
According to the lawmaker, this includes the poor and their families who find it difficult to feed themselves.
He explained that the proper and efficient management of poverty alleviation funds through sufficient regulation would drastically cut-down on the poverty rate in Nigeria.
“It is imperative to note, that the passage of this bill will effectively and efficiently regulate all forms of funds provided to alleviate poverty in the land, especially to remedy the suffering of our citizens.
