The President of the Senate and Chairman of the ninth National Assembly, Ahmad Lawan, has said contrary to popular opinions of critics, the National Assembly delivered its duty to the Nigerian people.
NewsOnline reports that Ahmad Lawan said from education to economy to security intervention and good relationship with the executive arm the ninth National Assembly put up the needed work for the country’s development.
President of the Senate made this known on Thursday while delivering an address to mark the celebration of his 64th birthday in Abuja.
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In a statement by his special assistant (press) Ezrel Tabiowo, Lawan said all members of the ninth National Assembly in line with their stated commitment of working for Nigerians on their inauguration day through a robust legislative agenda covered all critical areas that needed immediate intervention, including constitution amendment.
Speaking on the performance of the Ninth Assembly, he said, “We decided to be focused, strategic, tactical, patriotic, tolerant and patient in our work in the ninth Senate.
“We defined what we wanted to do in the ninth Senate when we were campaigning. We said we will work for Nigerians, and when we drew our legislative agenda after we were inaugurated, we worked on it.
“Thank God, almost everything we put there as legislative agenda, we finished with them in a good way.”
He assured Nigerians that the National Assembly would continue to collaborate with the executive arm to ensure that the challenges posed by insecurity across parts of the country are nipped in the bud.
The senate president also lauded the efforts of the federal government in the area of infrastructural development; he, however, said measures must be put in place to improve revenue generation and collection for adequate sustenance of the infrastructures.
He said most of the projects of the Federal government were executed through loans and other credit facilities. He said loans cannot be used to sustain the projects across the country.
“One other challenge is lack of sufficient revenues for government to undertake its numerous laudable and noble national development projects across the country.
“Most of what we do in terms of national development is to borrow funds for us to execute those projects.
“I think we have to work hard to improve our revenue generation and collection because it is not looking too sustainable that we tolerate people and some agencies of government, to misapply or not even declare the revenues they collect. We can’t continue with that”, Lawan said.
Lawan promised that the remaining part of the lifespan of the ninth National Assembly shall be dedicated to working closely with revenue-generating agencies and MDAs to ensure that revenue collection is improved.
He added that concessions and waivers given to corporations have to be reviewed to save the country from plunging into avoidable debt.
The Yobe North senator, who is having his last time in the National Assembly after 20 years, said, “So, for us in the Senate, we have decided that for the remaining part, we will continue to engage with our revenue-generating agencies until we get better outcomes from them. This is possible and has become imperative.
“Also, the concessions and waiver that government has given, we need to review that. Now, every kobo counts because we are in a very difficult situation.
“Where a waiver cannot be justified anymore because of our present circumstance, then such waiver should be reversed or renegotiated. But definitely, we need to work hard to improve the revenue generation and collection by the MDAs and other government agencies.”
