President of the Senate, Dr.
Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has thanked Nigerians all over the country for their
support and encouragement towards the work of the 8th Senate since it was
inaugurated three years ago.
In a statement issued from Saudi
Arabia where he is on lesser hajj, Saraki acknowledged that the achievements of
the Senate would not have been possible without the backing of Nigerians, who
have played a more active role in the activities of the legislature since June
9, 2015.
Saraki said: “In three short but
eventful years, we have definitely come a long way in this 8th Senate. We have
worked assiduously and diligently to meet the demands of Nigerians and a
changing economy that experienced a recession just a year after we assumed
office.
“In this time, we have passed 213
Bills, cleared 138 petitions submitted by the public. We are happy to say that
this Senate is the most productive since 1999. It has surpassed the 5th Senate
which with 129 bills in four years had the highest number of bills, as against
the 6th Senate with 72 bills, and 128 passed by the 7th Senate. The number of
petitions we have successfully treated to the satisfaction of Nigerians who
filed them dwarfed the eight and six treated by the sixth and seventh Senate
respectively.
“The present Senate has worked to
grow our economy by passing Bills like the Companies and Allied Matters Act,
the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act, the Credit Bureau Reporting Act
and the Warehouse Receipts Bill, Nigerian Railways Authority Bill, National
Transportation Commission Bill, which are aimed at providing significant
reforms to our business environment and strengthening our lending legislative
frameworks to allow SMEs to access capital.
“We are particularly glad that
the impact of the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act and the Credit
Bureau Reporting Act became apparent immediately after they were signed into
law as they form the basis for which the World Bank upgraded the rating of
Nigeria in its Annual Ease of Doing Business rating. We expect that when the
new CAMA which we just passed becomes law, it will yield an even more
significant results in helping small and medium scale entrepreneurs to access
capital, grow and multiply.
“We have also passed Bills like
the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit Bill, the Mutual Assistance in
Criminal Matters Bill, the Witness Protection Bill, the Whistleblower
Protection Bill and the Federal Audit Service Commission Bill to support the
fight against corruption. It should be noted that the National Assembly quickly
rose to the occasion to prevent the expulsion of Nigeria from the Global
community on the exchange of financial intelligence by expediting the passage
of the NFIU bill.
“With the support of the Nigerian
public, we were able to break the PIB jinx, by passing the Governance Component
of the Petroleum Industry Bill, and now, we have successfully conducted the
Public Hearing on the Administrative, Fiscal and Host Community Components of
this Bill — taking it to its farthest stage since 1999.
“Also of note is our passage of
the constitution amendment bills, some of which will change the landscape of
governance in Nigeria. Some of the bills like the ‘Not Too Young to Run’ bill,
the Financial Autonomy for Local Government Bill, Financial Autonomy for Houses
of Assembly among others are aimed at improving governance and ensuring that
government serves our people better.”
The Senate President also
highlighted some of the interventions of the Senate since June 9, 2015, noting
that the impact of the work of the legislature in Nigeria’s system of
governance was starting to be understood.
“The legislature as the youngest
of the three arms of government still has a lot of catching up to do in
ensuring that Nigerians understand its role in our democracy. This is why we
have been attentive and responsive to the needs of Nigerians by intervening
where it counts.
“We will like to reiterate the
fact that this Senate has taken deliberate measures aimed at opening up the
institution for better understanding by members of the public. These measures
include providing details and breakdown of the annual budget of the National
Assembly, holding of public hearing as part of the budget preparation process,
the proposed Open Nass week aimed at engaging with other arms of government and
civil society groups and the frequent discussions with a view to resolving
issues involving labour unions, government and other stakeholders.
“We exposed high-level corruption
in the management of the North East relief efforts, and passed the North East
Development Commission Bill, which has now been signed into law.
“We have also engaged
stakeholders on the drug epidemic that is ravishing a significant demographic
of our population and we are set to pass new Bills that will help to address
the Mental Health aspect of drug abuse and the law enforcement component that
has to do with ensuring that all agencies of the Federal Government are working
in-sync to tackle this menace with clearly defined legal structures in place.
We equally intervened in the human trafficking and illegal migration crises
plaguing the youthful segment of our population.
“We have also been working to
ensure that healthcare remains the right of every Nigerian and this is why with
the passage of the One Percent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) to
establish the Basic Healthcare Fund in the 2018 budget, primary healthcare will
be within reach for all 180 million of us.
“The One Percent Basic Healthcare
Fund is an intervention we made out of our conviction that all Nigerians, no
matter their station in life, deserve access to qualittive and affordable
health care. This is a move we made for the ordinary Nigerians and we believe
it will help to create a more vibrant, healthy and patriotic citizenry.
“This Fund will help us eliminate
the problem of maternal and infant mortality as well as create a healthy
population. We will be able to ensure that all our kids get necessary
immunization that keep various diseases away from them and ensure the mothers are
well catered for during child birth,” he stated.
The Senate President said
security issues remains work in progress, adding that Senators are tired of the
frequent observance of one-minute silence following the killing of Nigerians in
the various conflicts and criminal activities across the country.
He added that the Senate was
engaging with security agencies to ensure that all the necessary laws and funds
needed to ensure the safety of lives and property in the country are put in
place.
Saraki pledged that the Senate
and the National Assembly will continue to be transparent, accountable and
responsive even as the nation and its political office holders prepare for the
2019 elections.
“Some might see it as a time to leave
governance and focus on politics. We do not believe this. We will continue to
push forward and continue to perform. This is what Nigerians who sent us to
Abuja to represent their interests expect of us: a committed, transparent,
accountable and responsive government. We have shown this through our
antecedents, and as we continue to serve in the next one year, we will continue
to be just that,” he said.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com