3rd Anniversary: 8th Senate passes 213 Bills

 THE President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, on Monday, said the 8th Senate passed 213 Bills and dispensed with 138 petitions from its inauguration in 2015 to June 2018.

He made this known in a statement on Monday in Abuja and acknowledged that the achievements of the Senate during the period would not have been possible without the support of Nigerians.

In the statement signed by Mr Yusuf Olaniyonu, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Saraki said “during this time, we have passed 213 Bills and 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.”

According to him, in the three short but eventful years, the Senate has definitely come a long way.

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“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.

“The present Senate has worked to grow our economy by passing Bills like the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act, the Credit Bureau Reporting Act and the Warehouse Receipts Bill.

“They also include Nigerian Railways Authority Bill and National Transportation Commission Bill. These are aimed at providing significant reforms to our business environment and strengthening our lending legislative frameworks to allow SMEs to access capital.

“We expect that when the new CAMA, which we have just passed, becomes law, it will yield even more significant results in helping small and medium scale entrepreneurs to access capital, grow and multiply.

“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,” Saraki said.

He added that the legislature, “as the youngest of the three arms of government, 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 and 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.’’