Benjamin Kalu, Olumide Osoba and Miriam Onuoha, members of the House of Representatives have clashed over the bills seeking to legalise marijuana for commercial purposes in the country.
The bills seek to legalise the cultivation, sale and use of cannabis.
According to The PUNCH, two members Benjamin Kalu and Olumide Osoba had introduced a fresh bill on the floor of the house seeking to amend the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, to expand the scope of the anti-narcotics agency to issue licences for the cultivation, sale and use of marijuana.
The duo titled the bill as ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, Cap. N30, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 to Confer Additional Responsibility of the Power to Grant and Revoke Licenses for the Cultivation of Cannabis (or Any of Its Three Species, Namely Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indicia and Cannabis Ruderalis) Plant for Medicinal Purposes; and for Related Matters.’
The bill is a consolidated version of Kalu and Osoba’s separate bills numbered HBs. 1190 & 1918.
However, when the bill was mentioned for the second reading at the plenary on Wednesday, Miriam Onuoha, another member of the house protested that the bill has the same content as that of hers, which she sponsored long ago on the floor of the house.
The speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, in his ruling, directed both sides to meet the chairman of the house committee on rules and business, Abubakar Fulata, to identify the differences and similarities between the bills ahead of sitting on Thursday.
Apart from the lawmakers, Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo state and Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), have advocated for the legalisation of Cannabis in the country as a way to generate additional income instead of long dependence on oil which is already phasing out in the world’s market.
