A group of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Bauchi state has condemned the Bill passed by the state’s House of Assembly to repeal the law which empowers the government to recover stolen public assets. The CSOs under the auspices of “Bauchi State Network of Civil Society” (BASNEC) in a statement signed by its Secretary General, Comrade Sadiq Sadiq, said that it was disappointing for the state lawmakers to pass the bill in order to repeal the law enacted in 2017 tagged ‘Bauchi State Public Property and Funds Recovery Tribunal Law.’ “Such bills are against the interest of the citizens as it will not allow good governance to be in place.

“The action contradicts section 15 (5) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended which states that “the state shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power”. Such action undermines democratic process. “Our stance in condemning the latest bill to repeal the existing law (Bauchi State Public Property and Fund Recovery Tribunal Law 2017) because it has been of great benefit to Bauchi state citizens through prudence management of public property and funds”. The group stated.

According to the group, repealing the law will bar government’s panels or committees from probing and recovering public properties and funds from suspected corrupt public office holders in the state. BASNEC said that scrapping the law will would encourage corruption and deprive people of good governance and effective service delivery in the state. The group noted that, BASNEC is an umbrella body of CSOs across the 20 local governments of Bauchi state with a mission to improve civic participation through advocacy and synergy among Civil Society actors. (Daily Trust)

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