Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa has warned that a civil servant should not be used as Director of Cooperative Societies in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the proposed Cooperative Societies Bill 2020.

Obasa who made this warning during the Second Reading of the Cooperative Societies Bill 2020, titled, “A bill for a law to provide for Registration of Cooperative Societies in Lagos State and connected matters”, noted that a technocrat should be used as Director.

Making the warning, he said, “We must take the director away from the ministry. We must look outside for people with cognate experience that will help us achieve the intendments of this law.”

“The nomination of the director too should not be left to the whims and caprices of the commissioner alone.”

“It should be extended to the governor and subject to the approval of the assembly since he will be relating with the people and we [assembly] are the representatives of the people, we must ensure that whosoever is nominated has the capability and is ready to serve the interest of the people”, he said.

He also said that the Cooperative Societies Bill 2020 is very important going by the tremendous contributions the societies have generated to the revenue of the state and the employment opportunities they have provided.

Earlier, the objectives and sections of the bill were highlighted by Mr. Ganiu Okanlawon, Chairman, House Committee on Commerce and Industry, and debated by members.

The bill was then committed to the House Committee on Commerce and Industry to report back to the House in two weeks.

Vanguard