Deputy Senate President, Barr. Ike Ekweremadu
It was a mild firework of reasoning between digital modernism and resource economy as Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, hit back at Senator Ben Murray-Bruce (PDP Bayelsa East) for coming up with a Bill to set aside the use of fuel cars in Nigeria when Nigeria remains a leading oil producing economy.
In his lead argument, Ekweremadu, a lawyer by profession argued that “This will enable us to sell our oil.”
However, explaining more at the Plenary on Wednesday, Deputy Senate President commended Murray-Bruce for his “uncommon common sense and brilliant ideas,” but pointing out that the ancillary to Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution grants Nigerians freedom of movement; and that there is no need to introduce a law to mandate the use of electric cars.
“Besides, in economic sense, we are an oil producing country. So, we should do everything possible to frustrate the sale of electric cars in Nigeria to enable us to sell our oil.”
Whereas Senator Murray-Bruce had sponsored the bill for an Act to phase out petrol vehicles by 2035 and introduce electric cars, with an argument that electric cars are healthy, economical and would not deplete the ozone layer, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC-Kano) said while electric vehicles no doubt, would be friendlier to the environment and health, making its use mandatory was not feasible.
The bill was however rejected after many senators presented their arguments.
