Senate also passed enabling bill to establish Federal University in Taraba State
By Emma Ogbuehi
The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill to amend the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Act. The chamber also passed enabling bill to establish Federal University in Taraba State
The passage of the bill on Federal Airports Authority Act followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on Aviation.
Chairman of the Committee, Senator Smart Adeyemi, in his presentation, said the bill seeks to repeal the Federal Airports Authority Act and to enact the Federal Airports Authority Act 2021.
He said that the piece of legislation also seeks to provide for the effective management of airports in Nigeria.
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According to him, “under the bill, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) retains its responsibilities of providing effective management, necessary services and facilities for safe, secure, orderly, expeditious and economic operation of airports and air transport in Nigeria.
“The bill also provides that subject to the prior approval of FAAN, no person is permitted to commence construction or reconstruction of an aerodrome in Nigeria.”
Adeyemi said that stakeholders at a public hearing on the bill disclosed that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria Act has not had any major amendments since 1999 despite a lot of changes.
He explained that the amendments to the Federal Airports Authority Act was needed to create the enabling environment for FAAN to function transparently, efficiently and effectively.
The bill on Federal University, Taraba, was to provide legal framework for the establishment of the Federal Univerity, Wukari, Taraba State.
The bill was passed after the upper chamber considered a report by the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND.
Senator Sandy Onuh, in a presentation on behalf of the Committee Chairman, Ahmad Babba Kaita, recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the establishment of nine universities across the six geo-political zones, which included the Federal University, Wukari.
According to the lawmaker, the bill to establish the university seeks to develop and offer academic and professional teaching and research programmes leading to the award of first degrees, post-graduate degrees and diplomas.
He added that the presence of the university would “assist the host communities in increasing planning, production and processing; in addition to adaptive, technical, maintenance, developmental and productive skills in both social and management sciences as conventional university in Nigeria.