The Senate has passed two amendment bills aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s local manufacturing and processing industries and improving professional standards in procurement. The bills are the Raw Materials Research and Development Council Act Amendment Bill 2026 and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria Establishment Act Amendment Bill 2026.
The bills were passed during plenary after lawmakers rescinded their earlier decisions and recommitted them to the Committee of the Whole for further consideration. Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, who moved the motion, said the bills had previously been passed by the National Assembly and sent to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
Bamidele explained that the President returned the bills following observations from the Federal Ministry of Justice, which identified issues requiring further legislative consideration. He said a technical committee comprising representatives of both chambers and legal drafting experts reviewed the concerns to ensure legal clarity and proper drafting.
According to the Senate leader, the amendment to the Raw Materials Research and Development Council Act is designed to protect and develop Nigeria’s local manufacturing and processing industries. The proposed changes to the procurement institute’s law, meanwhile, seek to accommodate developments in global procurement practices.
After considering the bills clause by clause and adopting the recommended amendments, the Senate approved them for third reading. The bills were subsequently read for the third time and passed, although they must still undergo the necessary legislative processes.
Meanwhile, the Senate stepped down a separate bill seeking to relocate the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa, to Nasarawa Eggon. The sponsor, Senator Danladi Envulu-Anza, argued that Nasarawa North lacked a federal tertiary institution after the existing polytechnic in Nasarawa West was upgraded to a university.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio advised Envulu-Anza to leave the upgraded institution in its current location and introduce fresh legislation to establish a federal polytechnic in Nasarawa Eggon. He warned that relocating the institution under its former designation could create legal complications, and the senator accepted the advice, agreeing to prepare a new bill.
