Livestock Control Bill Gets Nigerian Senate in A Heated Debate

By theGazetteNGR

Editorinchief

Posted: April 20, 2021 at 8:31 PM, Updated: September 21, 2022 at 7:44 AM

According to the Constitution, such matters should be handled by State Houses of Assembly.

The Senate debated a Bill for an Act to establish the National Livestock Bureau to ensure the safety, control, and management of livestock, as well as traceability registration and cattle rustling in the country, in plenary on Tuesday.

Senator Bima Muhammad Enagi is the bill’s sponsor, and it passed second reading (Niger South).

Enagi, who led the discussion on the Bill’s general principles, stated that the Bill aims to ensure livestock health and disease control through disease monitoring, prevention, and rapid response to disease outbreaks.

According to him, if enacted into law, the proposed legislation would deter animal theft, especially in relation to the ongoing cattle rustling crisis, as well as aid intelligence gathering by security agencies in order to mitigate the ongoing conflicts between herders and farmers.

â€œThe Bureau when created will facilitate and ensure the operationalization of a national system of livestock identification, registration and traceability through developing strategies, mechanisms and scheme for the implementation of the system and in particular, evolve a standard national uniform procedure. The National Data base would serve as a guide for policy formulation by Government. It would also ensure the regulation of participants in the livestock business.â€

While five senators from the north, including the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, spoke in support of the bill, the southern senators remained silent, with the exception of Senate spokesman Senator Ajibola Bashiru, who spoke against it.

Senator Bashiru, who is opposed to the Bill and is depending on the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, said that no part of the Constitution’s Exclusive and Concurrent components gives the National Assembly the power to legislate on livestock.

According to the Constitution, such matters should be handled by State Houses of Assembly.

Proceeding with the Bill’s consideration and passage, he claims, would be unconstitutional.

Bala Ibn N’Allah, a Senator from Kebbi State, disagreed, claiming that only the National Assembly could legislate on the issue.

He insisted that it was the Federal Government’s responsibility to ensure the country’s food security.

â€œI read in person the debate on the issue as to whether the senate has legal capacity to legislate on issue of agriculture last week. It is by providence that today the same issue is being raised, based on my limited understanding of the constitution, the sectorialzation of powers of National Assembly under what is called exclusive, the concurrent list, one if it was under a system of confederate nature , then you can religiously say that we donâ€™t have the power, but because the system is federal in nature the constitution anticipates a situation might arise where the overriding National interest will be tabled for consideration and thatâ€™s why the constitution says if an issue is presented in the concurrent list, both the National and state assemblies have powers to make laws. And that where the laws made by the states becomes inconsistent with the one made by the federal then ours shall prevail so that the provision.

â€œWith due respect to position held by Senator Bashiru , the senate has legislative competence to legislate on issue of agriculture. This is one of the best legislation to be presented for the intervention of the senate. In view of the current crisis we are having, regarding cattle rustling extra ordinary situation requires extraordinary actions and this is the reason why we find justification by the senate to legislate on issue of agriculture. If the contents of this Bill is implemented movement of cattle will be strictly monitored, it means it will make it almost impossible to have access to illegal livestock and sell them elsewhere. Itâ€™s better for us to err on the side of action that will bring peace to the country than for us to err on what we can conveniently refer to as legislative convenienceâ€.

Senator Sabi Abdullahi, Senate Deputy Whip, recalled that the Bill was placed before the Eighth Senate, but that it

‘unfortunately never went through.’

â€œThis Bill is timely and should be supported. We are talking about diversifying the economy, the livestock sector is key to this effort.â€

Corroborating Naâ€™Allahâ€™s position, the Senate President said it was within his powers to interpret the Constitution and the Senate rules.

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He recalled that in February, 2010, the National Assembly, without recourse to the 1999 Constitution, as amended, passed the Doctrine of Necessity motion which ushered in Goodluck Jonathan as acting President, adding that national interest was more important.

â€œI believe that in this Senate, we even had a resolution or intervention that was based on the Doctrine of necessity, because there was need for the National Assembly to intervene even when it was clear that there was no provision for such a situation.

â€œSitting here, I believe that we will be doing this country good, we will be doing justice and a great deal of service to our people that we legislate on this. The identification is just one side of it, but the protection and management of this sector of our economy that is so huge and massive is critical to our economy.

â€œIt is not something that we will leave to the states to do whatever they want to do. Let the states also try to legislate to compliment whatever the National Assembly will do.

â€œSo, based on Standing Order 25(h) which gives me the authority to interprete both our standing orders â€“ the rules and constitutional point of orders â€“ I rule that this Senate and, indeed, the National Assembly has the legislative competence to legislate on this matterâ€.
Lawan said the livestock sector generated between N5 to N10 trillion annually for the country.

â€œAny government or any parliament will try to do anything possible to ensure that such an industry is protected, promoted to ensure that people earn their livelihood and people have food reserve in the country.â€

The Senate President thereafter, ruled in favour of the passage for a second reading of the Bill and referred it to the Senate committee on Agriculture and Rural Development which is to report back to plenary within two weeks.

Meanwhile, three other bills scaled second reading during plenary on Tuesday.

They are: A Bill for An Act to Amend the Nursing and Midwifery Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021; A Bill for An Act to Establish Integrated Corporate Commercial Data Management Commission; and the Critical Infrastructure Protection Bill, 2021.

The bills were sponsored by Senators Hassan Mohammed (Zamfara Central); Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf (Taraba Central); and Mohammed Sani Musa (Niger East), respectively.

While the Bill for An Act to Amend the Nursing and Midwifery Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021, was referred by the Senate President to the Committee on Health; the Bill for An Act to Establish the Integrated Corporate Commercial Data Management Commission; and the Critical Infrastructure Protection Bill, 2021, were both referred to the Committee on Establishment and Public Service.

The Committees are also expected to turn in their reports within four weeks.