By Noah Ocheni, Lokoja
Kogi House of Assembly has passed a bill establishing the Confluence University of Science and Technology, Osara and two others.
The bills were passed on the floor of the House at plenary sitting after Clause-by-Clause consideration at a Committee-of-the-Whole by members on Wednesday in Lokoja.
It would be recalled that the bill suffered a setback at Tuesday plenary as members could not agree on the formula for funding of the proposed Science-based institution.
The report presented by Ododo Moses Edoko-Ododo (APC-Dekina-Biraidu), chairman of the Committee on Education had recommended four per cent deduction from the monthly statutory allocation of Local Government Councils.
Some members however, argued that the percentage be increased to five per cent and for five years saying that scientific and technological equipment were capital intensive.
“The expected revenue to accrue to the institution from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state was increased from seven per cent to 10 per cent for 10 years.”
The controversy was, however, taken care of at Wednesday plenary on discovery of a clause stating that the provisions were subject to subsequent reviews by the state government.
One of the two other bills passed by the House is the, “Kogi State Public Procurement and enactment repeal with other matters connected therewith 2020.”
The bill was “A bill for a law to establish Kogi State Mortgage Board and to regulate mortgage Creation, Foreclosure and Enforcement of Mortgages in Real Property and other connected purposes, 2020.”
Clerk of the House, Alhaji Ibrahim Isah Amoka, pronounced the bills passed after their third and final readings following their Public Hearing and subsequent Clause-by-Clause considerations of the committee reports.
