TAIWO FAROTIMI
The eighth Senate has given itself pass mark for leading others before it in the passage of bIlls that impact on the polity. A statement issued Monday by Bukola Saraki, president of the Senate who is currently in Saudi Arabia on lesser haj states that the record of the eighth Senate has surpassed the achievements of its predecessors since 1999.
The statement signed by Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki’s special adviser on media and publicity enumerates that “In (three years), we have passed 213 Bills, 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.”
While commending the passage of bills that he said have contributed to efforts at growing the economy, the Senate president recalls “that the National Assembly quickly rose to the occasion to prevent the expulsion of Nigeria from the Global community on the exchange of financial intelligence by expediting the passage of the NFIU bill.”
He also lauded the Senate for breaking the PIB jinx and the passage of constitutional amendment bills, which he said, “will change the landscape of governance in Nigeria.” These include the bills on financial autonomy for the judiciary and legislature at the state level. The bills, along with the not-too-young-to-run bill, have since been signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari.
These achievements notwithstanding, the Senate president said the upper legislative house, and in fact the National Assembly will not rest on its oars. He promised, “Some might see it as a time to leave governance and focus on politics. We do not believe this. We will continue to push forward and continue to perform.”
