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 The Chairman, House of Representatives’ Committee on Agricultural Colleges and Institutions, Mr Munir Agundi, has hailed the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for assenting to the Plant Variety Protection Bill 2021. Agundi said the Plant Variety Protection Act 2021 will create a window for the protection of plant varieties in Nigeria. The lawmaker, in a statement issued on Tuesday, titled ‘ Buhari Signs Plant Variety Protection Act into Law ’, said the bill was signed into law on Friday. Agundi, who sponsored the bill, said the law would also provide recognition and proper remuneration for breeders who develop plant varieties. He added that the law would also introduce the long-awaited game-changing tool for agricultural research to create meaningful impact in the nation’s agricultural industry. Agundi said, “ All efforts made by previous administrations to reform the agricultural sector could not see the light of the day due to lack of political will .” He added ...

  The House of Representatives has threatened to petition the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), over heads of ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government, who shun its summons. The House Committee on Public Accounts, at its investigative hearing on Wednesday, expressed its displeasure with the top government officials, who allegedly refused to answer invitations to explain financial irregularities traced to their agencies or to clarify some records provided by other agencies. The committee was particularly miffed by the non-appearance of the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emiefele; Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Melee Kyari; Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Hadiza Bala Usman; and the Director-General, Bureau for Public Enterprises, Alex Okoh.The National Emergency Management Agency and the Petroleum Equalisation Fund also failed to appear before the committee. They had been summoned by the...