BY Juliana Katung
Kaduna (Nigeria) — Kaduna state is considering the establishment of Residents Registration Agency to keep data of residents with a view minimizing crisis and crime in the state.
To this end, an executive bill has been presented to the State House of Assembly for consideration.
The bill tagged ‘A bill for a law for the Registration of Kaduna State Residents and for Connected purposes 2017’ has passed the second reading and referred to House Committee on Budget Planning, for an indept study and is expected back at the plenary on Wednesday, 8th November, 2017.
Speaking with Journalists on the bill, Majority Leader of the House, Haruna Mabo Inuwa, said the “primary purpose of the bill is to establish the Kaduna State Residents registration Agency law.”
He added that the proposed law was also geared towards creating a reliable database to provide useful data for planning, security, social welfare, employment, finance services, housing, demographic, education, health and related matters.
According to him, the proposed law was also aimed at providing relevant infrastructure for the creation of residents information database for every person in the state, with a view to produce residency cards to all qualified residents of the state and ensuring easy identification of residents.
Most of the members who contributed during the debate on the floor of the House said, it is a good thing to have a residential data base, but drew the attention of the committee in charge of the bill on the need for redefinition of some terms in the bill for easy understanding.
The lawmakers during their separate contributions, stressed the need for a massive sensitization of the general public when the bill finally becomes a law.
Similarly, the Assembly also referred the bill for a law to amend the Law review Committee law No. 3 of 1991 to its Committee on Judiciary for an indept study and to report back to the House on 1st November, 2017.
