On Thursday, the Oyo State House of Assembly adjourned the plenary for the end of the year break to resume on January 18, 2022, and also passed three bills into law.
The bills are;
- The Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response Team and Referral Centre Bill, 2020;
- Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Tax Bill, 2021;
- The Oyo State Audit Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
The bills were passed following the presentation of the reports of the committees that considered them. In her statement, the Chairman, House Committee on Women Affairs, Olawumi Oladeji (Ogbomoso North), said the Oyo State Gender-Based Violence Response Team and Referral Centre Bill, 2020 was another milestone in the effort to put an end to all forms of violence against girls, women and all categories of humans.
Oladeji noted that the response team and the referral centre would help coordinate all the activities and programmes to address gender-based violence in the state.
Reading the Committee report on the Hotel Occupancy and Restaurant Consumption Tax Bill, Isiaka Kazeem (Oyo East/West) noted that the bill would help in increasing the internally generated revenue of the state and commended the House of Assembly for the passage of the bill.
In his report on the Oyo State Audit Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021, the Chairman, House Committee on Public Account, Finance and Appropriation, Hakeem Mustapha, said the bill was in line with the plan of the state government to make the Oyo State Audit Commission more functional.
Mustapha explained that the law was amended to ensure that offices of the Auditors-General at both the state and local government levels are competitive and tenured.
Addressing the plenary, the Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin, said the three bills just passed had joined the growing list of bills passed by the 9th Oyo Assembly.
“We have surpassed past assemblies in terms of the passage of bills, motions and resolutions. We have over 70 bills, and we are still counting. To God be the glory.”
He commended the committees that worked on the three bills, adding that the reports were thorough and meticulous.
The Speaker used the medium to appreciate all the lawmakers for their commitment in the outgoing year and urged them to make the new year better in terms of commitment, dedication and achievements.
Suzan O.
