Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, has assured that the red chamber under
his leadership would not be a rubber stamp to the Executive.
Speaking to State House correspondents in Abuja after a meeting with
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday, the newly elected presiding
officer said he was at the presidential villa to pay a “thank you”
visit on Osinbajo.
In a bid to douse speculation that his manner of emergence as Senate
President would cause him to differ to the Executive, Lawan said that
he was just the first among equals and could not take legislative
decisions like a school principal.
However, he said he would ensure smooth relations with the Executive.
The Senate President added: “A parliament is not a primary school or a
secondary school where the headmaster or principal will dictate to his
students. Parliament is an aggregate or an assemblage of people that
have equal status.
“Being elected as Senate President does not mean that I’m the boss of
the other Senators. I’m simply to coordinate and aggregate views and
lead debates. Whoever is in the majority, that will be the decision of
the Senate, appropriately and accordingly.
“So, there will be nothing like rubber stamp. So far, I have never
seen a National Assembly that had a rubber stamp leadership and I have
been around for 20 years to note that.
“One thing I must tell you is that while we desire to remain
sufficiently on our track, we will ensure that oversight function is
properly carried out; but we will cooperate fully and give total
support to the administration to ensure that there is good governance.
“There is no need for any fear that we will be a rubber stamp National
Assembly. Perhaps and probably with time, Nigeria will come to see
that what we desire and what will happen by the grace of God will be a
working relationship that endears the entire administration and
government to the people of Nigeria. So, there is no cause for alarm.”
While expressing his gratitude to Osinbajo for the role he played in
the emergence of current National Assembly leaders, Lawan said this
was now an opportunity to discuss the type of Senate that should be
expected in the Ninth National Assembly.
He stated: “As the new National Assembly, we have received a
bi-partisan mandate from across the parties. The PDP, the YPP voted
for us and we believe that this is the time and opportunity for us to
consolidate the kind of support that we received across the political
parties that we received in the National Assembly.
“We believe that we must remain united in the National Assembly; we
must remain focused for us to be able to deliver those legislative
interventions that would be necessary for good governance in the
country.
“We also believe that we must have a relationship with the executive
arm of government that is based on cooperation and collaboration. It
is our desire in the Ninth National Assembly to work seamlessly with
the executive arm of government because we believe that Nigerians did
not make a mistake for voting for the executive as presently
constituted and the legislature as it is today.
“So, we are in it together with the executive arm of government to
work in such a fashion to be able to deliver those democracy dividends
that Nigerians need today. It is our desire also to ensure that
whoever is appointed by the executive arm of government performs his
or her functions optimally.
“We will ensure that we provide those enablers that will make them
perform but we also expect them to work hard to ensure that Mr
President and this administration leave the kind of legacies that we
all desire.”
…APC supporters knock Senate President over new appointment
Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, has come under criticism following his
appointment of Festus Adedayo as special adviser on media and
publicity.
Adedayo has reportedly been a staunch critic of the President
Muhammadu Buhari administration and the ruling All Progressives
Congress (APC).
Supporters of the party expressed their disappointment over the Senate
president’s appointment which they believe is a slap on the face of
those who supported his candidacy.
According to some, Adedayo’s appointment is a poor precedence which
will discourage people who have been defending to APC-led government.
