By  Henry Umoru & Joseph Ernke

ABUJA—IN its determination to make the patronage of locally made products mandatory, the Senate,yesterday, passed the Public Procurement Act Amendment Bill.

The passage of the bill was sequel to the consideration of report of the Senate Committee on Public Procurement, sponsored by Senator Joshua Dariye, PDP, Plateau Central.

The bill, titled “A Bill For An Act To Amend The Public Procurement Act To provide for and Adopt A Local Content Policy and Timely Completion of Procurement Processes and Other Related Matter,” passed third reading at the Senate.

Earlier, Senator Joshua Dariye said the bill, when assented to, would amend certain relevant sections of the 2007 Procurement Act to favour local manufacturers and ensure speedy completion of projects.

Dariye said: “Similarly, the issue of disposal which is an integral aspect of procurement has been aptly captured by the amendment in the new sub-clause 1(e).”