The Federal Government has commenced the process of reforming its 121 year-old Sale of Goods Act, which was introduced to Nigeria by the British Colonial Administration in 1893.
The Nigerian Law Reform Commission (NLRC) is the agency taking up the responsibility of reforming the aged law, which regulates transaction of goods in the country.
Speaking at a programme organised by the commission to review the reform proposals in Abuja, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), who was represented by his Senior Special Assistant, Mr. Bola Odugbesan, noted that, “delivery of quality law is key to economic transformation of the country.”
The minister, who declared the workshop open, also said, “The law regulating sale of goods in Nigeria is the Sale of Goods Act, 1893, which was introduced into Nigeria by our British colonial masters.
“The Act still operates in Nigeria as a statute of general application even after our independence in 1960 up till today. It has neither been domesticated nor undergone any form of reform since its introduction into the country over 100 years ago.
“It is not in doubt that such a law needs a reform in order to bring it into conformity with modern changes in the society.”
Chairman of the Law Reform Commission, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, said although, states like Bayelsa, Benue, Abia, Lagos, Ogun and Ondo had enacted their own Sale of Goods laws, “the provisions are the same in terms of substance with the 1893 Act.”
“The Sale of Goods Act 1893 has been repealed in the United Kingdom where it was first enacted. The Sale of Goods Act 1979, which is operational in the United Kingdom has introduced amendments including the regulation of the English Contract Law and the United Kingdom Commercial Law,” Osunbor added.
Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Justice Ibrahim Bukar, who was represented by Mr. Enenche Eleojo commended the proposed reform of the law and such other statues which he said were still retaining currencies that were no longer in use in the country.
On his part, the anchor person of the proposed reform, Prof. Olanrewaju Adeojo, of the Faculty of Law, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, expressed hope that there would be a common Sale of Goods law at the regional level as obtainable in some Francophone states.
