The 8th Senate winded down its legislative activities on Thursday as over 60 Senators who attended the valedictory session gave an account of their stewardship over the past four years.
Among the Senators who spoke are: 43 returnees including Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Leader of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan; Ibn N’Allah, Deputy Senate Leader Senator Adeola Solomon, Senator Dino Melaye and 66 non-returning Senators, including the Senate President Bukola Saraki.
The session which was presided over by Senate President Bukola Saraki lasted for over 6 hours, as both returning and non-returning Senators applauded the remarkable feats recorded by the 8th Assembly.
According to the presentations, the Senate passed a total number of 490 bills out of which 40 bills were not assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari during the period under review.
Tribune Online gathered that only 70 bills were signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari during the period under review.
Some of the non-returning Senators who spoke during the session, including: Senator Barnabas Gemade (Benue), Olusola Adeyemi (Osun Central), Shehu Sani (PRP-Kaduna), Magnus Abe (APC-Rivers), Ben Bruce (PDP-Bayelsa), George Akume (APC-Benue), Sam Anyanwu (PDP-Imo), among others urged the incoming Senators to strive toward deepening democratic principles, synergies with the Executive and put the national interests beyond personal gains.
The lawmakers who applauded the leadership qualities of the outgoing Senate President in steering and stabilizing the Upper Chamber since the inception of the 8th Assembly, however, frowned at the soar relationship between Legislature and Executive.
Speaking during the session, Senator Lawan who is the lead aspirant for the position of the President of the Senate in the 9th Assembly described Yobe North especially Bade/Jakusko for showing the level of trust over the past 16 years.
While relaying his experience on the 9th June 2015, which Senator Lawan observed that the Senate Unity Forum consciously decided in the interest of national unity put the issues behind them in the bid to forge forward and stabilize the polity.
As chairman of Senate Committee on Defence had intimate relations with the Armed Forces in stemming the insurgency and protecting the territorial integrity of this country despite the meagre resources at their disposal.
“In January 2017, I was made the Senate Leader with all your support and wouldn’t have remained as Senate Leader without your support,” the Yobe North Senator acknowledged.
“The work of the Senate Leader is the most difficult work,” adding that “it is a delicate balance and also defend my government and on the other hand be at home with my colleagues.”
“Many people think I’m rigid but I told you all in my acceptance speech that I am not rigid,” adding that with the overwhelming support of his Colleagues despite religious, ethnicity and party alliances contributed meaningfully to his success as the Senate Leader.
He noted that for 8 years he was the leader of the opposition party for 8 years and noted that he was “never a foe not a friend during the PDP reign for 16 years”, thereby thanking the PDP lawmakers cooperation and support to ensure the success of the 8th Senate.
Lawan who expressed optimism that the 9th Senate can achieve better feats through effective discharge of its Constitutional functions underscored the need for a cordial working relationship with the Executive arm of government.
“Oversight is critical no matter how good legislation are,” Lawan stressed, adding that the outgoing Standing Committees hardly report back the outcome of their activities to the Committee of the Whole.
He maintained that the Legislature and Executive by reason of their constitutional functions are bent to agree and disagree in the national interest and citizenry.
He also applauded former Senate President David Mark during the 6th and 7th Assembly, while steering the affairs of the Upper Chamber, though noted that his views were undermined by Senator Teslim Folarin was the Leader of the Senate.
He however noted that: “One thing we didn’t get right was our inability to reduce the numbers of the school children walking across the street of 14.6 million,” Lawan lamented, stressing his passion to see all the children of common man educated at least to JSS 3 and get entrepreneurial skill that will make them self-reliant.
In his remarks, Olusola Adeyeye who noted that a lot of wisdom resides in the Senate expressed displeasure over some of the lapses observed during the 8th Assembly, including non-adherence to the provisions of the Standing Rules, non-formation of a quorum at the scheduled 10 am for the commencement of the plenary.
“I don’t think we have done a good job on oversight, which should not be used for extortion. Unfortunately, that has been the case.”
He also punctured the ego of the 8th Senate over non-passage of the budget of some agencies including National Agency for Foods and Drugs Administration Control (NAFDAC) till the expiration of the 8th Assembly, due to the interplay between the regulatory agency and the Upper Chamber.
Similarly, the Senator condemned in strong terms the undue compromise that led to the emergence of a first timer as Minority Leader against the international best practice, passiveness in the approval of two unqualified nominees out of the 37 nominees for the Ministerial positions despite reaching a consensus that they were not qualified.
While noting that the leadership of the Senate should have stood its ground by expressing its objectivity to Mr President, regardless of sentiment and the prevailing circumstances faced by the Senate President.
On his part, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha who urged all the Senators to consider themselves as Elderstatesmen by virtue of their election and contributions to national development stressed the need to shun partisan political, ethnicity and religious affiliations.
He also condemned some of the Senators who under the guise of being good boys to their political godfathers and as a result of being patronised, traded the moves for national development.
Also speaking, Francis Alimikhena, Deputy Chief Whip described the 8th Assembly as “first in positives and negatives”, being the first Senate to pass 490 bills and received 40 Bills unassented to by Mr President since 1999.
While expressing his view, Senator Dino Melaye (PDP-Kogi) who frowned at the crisis that erupted during the invasion of the Senate Chamber by hoodlums who snatched the Mace which serves as a symbol of authority and democracy.
Also speaking, Sam Anyanwu, chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges disclosed that out of a total number of 642 Petitions transmitted to the Committee, 153 were considered while 320 disengaged workers were reinstated.
In his closing remarks, the Senate President Bukola Saraki who showered encomium on the 8th Assembly, recalled the passage of economic-related bills, enactment of North East Development Commission bill, visit to Boko Haram ravaged communities in Borno State, donation for renovation of IDP camps, sexual harassment law, resolution of industrial action declared by organised labour including the 2-month industrial action in the health sector, allocation of 1% to health sector, among others.
He also saluted the landmark legislation passed ranging from Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), Not Too Young bill, noting that the 8th Senate has been there for Nigerians, just as he urged the 9th Senate to sustain the momentum.
On the Executive-Legislature relationship, he urged the Executive to note that the Legislature has the statutory power to work on the budget proposal and not seen the Legislature as a rubber stamp.
“The pieces of legislation we passed in the crucial areas and arenas affecting the daily lives of citizens – on the economy, in education, security, anti-corruption, health and so on – will remain a benchmark. Working together, we clocked many firsts in the 8th Senate, and we should rightly be proud of these, especially as they are imperishable legacies we are leaving for the people.
“Our many firsts include the National Assembly Joint Public Hearing on the Budget, which we started with the 2016 Appropriation Bill. The engagement of the private sector and other stakeholders in crafting the economic legislative agenda was a watershed. For the first time, there were meetings and interactions with members of the public which were not previously the norm. One such interaction was the Public Senate, which gave youths the opportunity to spend a day with me as President of the Senate. I have pleasant memories of my reading to an audience of small children inside my office, wherein the true spirit of Children’s Day – the kids themselves were the dignitaries.
“It was during this Senate that we patented the concept of the Roundtable. This was groundbreaking. We left the centre of power in Abuja to tackle pressing social issues at the very heart of the communities most affected. Notable among these were the Senate Roundtable on the Drug Use Crisis held in Kano in December 2017, and the one on Migration and Human Trafficking held in Benin City in February 2018. At both events, we not only dialogued for solutions with the relevant government agencies, international partners and community leaders – we heard from the victims themselves,” the Kwara State lawmaker noted.
While noting that the Senate had 100% confirmation of ministers and ambassadors, Senator Saraki observed that other approvals stands at about 80%.
He also applauded the Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and Leader of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan for leaving a worthwhile legacy following his performance in office.
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He expressed optimism that the Senator Lawan and Senator Ndume will emerge the President of the Senate in the 9th Assembly.
Saraki who spoke in an emotional-laden voice, took responsibilities for the actions and inactions of the 8th Senate, stressing that: “the bulk lies on me.”
“In closing, distinguished colleagues, let me say that I am quite proud of the fact that there was not a whiff of scandal in this Senate. You carried yourselves with the bearing and sense of probity worthy of the office. You played your part in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy. May the work we have done here bear bountiful fruits in the length and breadth of this great country of ours, and may it be so for years to come.
“And so to the question: how do we define the 8th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? We can define ourselves by the record number of bills passed, motions cleared, resolutions adopted, petitions treated. We can also define ourselves by the belief that we fought for democracy, held the government to account and made personal sacrifices. For some of us, sacrifices are still being made, owing to the fallouts of some of the decisions taken. I have no regrets because, as first among equals, we bear collective responsibility for those decisions. As a leader, however, I take responsibility. The buck stops with me.
“In doing all that we did in this chamber, we always used to believe that poverty knew no party, religion, tribe or region. We came together in response to the needs of Nigerians as a whole, and we got the job done. It will be said of us that we were truly representative of all our constituents. As we conclude the last plenary and the few more days of the 8th Senate, therefore, we should nurture the relationships we have built,” Saraki urged.
and then