The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan has replied to critics of his leadership of the 9th Senate that the red chamber under his watch has not been pocketed or rendered “a rubber stamp”.
Addressing journalists on the occasion of the 2nd anniversary of the 9th Senate; Lawan said the task of leadership and the “peaceful relationship” the Senate has enjoyed with the executive have come with a huge price; part of which is the tag of “rubber stamp”, erroneously slammed on the Senate.
Lawan said it is wrong to label the Senate as a rubber stamp simply because it is not unnecessarily picking quarrels with the executive arm of government; stressing that what is important is the many positive results from the healthy working relationship with the executive in the last two years.
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The Senate President said the Senate has maintained its grounds when it needed to; rejecting some appointment nominations by President Muhammadu Buhari in the process.
He, however, said there have been occasions when the Senate has felt very bad about the attitude of some members of the executive arm of government and has been tempted to take drastic actions but reconsidered the move in the interest of the people.
On Nigeria’s mounting debt profile and external borrowings; Lawan agreed that it is a burden but a necessary one to help Nigeria build needed infrastructure for development.
Nigeria’s debt profile is estimated at roughly N32 trillion.
Lawan noted that a substantial amount is owed by State governments but guaranteed by the Federal Government.
The President of the Senate welcomed the dialogue aimed at resolving current face-off between the Federal Government and Tech Giant, Twitter.
Nigeria had last week suspended the operations of Twitter after the micro-blogging social media network pulled down a tweet it considered offensive by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Lawan who said Senate will continue to do its best to promote good governance at all levels in the county; assured that the National Assembly is on course with the review of the 1999 Constitution and is determined that it yields fruitful results for the Nigerian people.
He called on the media to pile pressure on the State Assemblies and Governors who he accused of frustrating constitutional amendments aimed at granting financial autonomy to Local Governments, State legislature, and State Judiciary in the past.
He called for an arrangement that will allow the Federal government to “work in a democratic fashion side by side with the states and the local governments.
Ahmad Lawan is the 8th President of the Senate in the fourth republic.
( Editor: Omor Bazuaye)
