Revenue Monitoring Bill Suffers Setback

The State Assembly last Tuesday took away the remaining creditability ascribed to the Bill on Internal Revenue Monitoring Agency, sponsored by Hon Michael Okey Chinda, representing Obio/Akpor Constituency 11.

The bill which seeks to improve the revenue base of the state through adequate monitoring to prevent leakages in internally generated revenue (IGR) of the state was diplomatically allowed to enter the House cooler which may probably not reappear again.

This followed an appeal from the Leader, of the House, Hon. Chidi Lloyd that further debate on the bill be deferred until such a time when the Business and Rules Committee of the Assembly would deem necessary to reschedule it in the order paper.

The leader who earlier supported the bill saw the bill literally put on the draft law and took the step to avert outright death or defeat of the bill when he tactically sought for a safe landing.

The Internal Revenue Monitoring Agency Bill had suffered deferment before Tuesday’s episode when Hon. Josiah John Olu said the bill contains multiple  complications with a still birth and urged the House to throw away the bill.

Hon Olu who was not present during the last debate on the bill, noted that the sections contained in the bill were the same with an earlier law passed by the Assembly recently.

He argued that if the purpose of harmonising the internal revenue board law was to have a one desk stop for revenue collection, then, the agency to monitor revenue was not longer necessary.

In another development, the Customary Court Law amendment Bill sponsored by Hon. Golden Chioma representing Etche Constituency 11, which was dropped for repackaging had made its re-entry in the house.

Speaker Rt Hon Otelemaba Amachree, before asking the sponsor to re-introduce the Bill, Demanded to know if the “K-leg” spotted in the withdrawn draft had been corrected.

Meanwhile, proceedings of the House were brought to a standstill for about 60 minutes, following power outage at the assembly complex forcing the speaker to stand down the House business.