Mark accepts responsibility for Senate failures

As the Senate took stock of its activities in the last four years, the President of the Senate, David Mark, on Thursday admitted that the Senate failed to do certain things and took responsibility for the failure.
Mark spoke when he was rounding off the valedictory session which brought the Sixth Senate to a close.
He said, “Whatever success we have achieved today, we collectively have that honour, the honour is collectively for all of us. We all share in the success, but I and I alone, David Mark, takes full responsibility for all the acts of commissions and omissions and I take full responsibility for all that we failed to do or we did. The bulk stops at my desk.
“My prayer is that we elevate the legislature to a level where a Nigerian will prefer to be senator of the Federal Republic than to be a President of the Federal Republic and for us to do that, we have to work extra hard. We have to keep to time, no nation can make progress unless we keep to time. We have to attend plenary.”
He also took time to list the achievements of the Senate to include amendment to the Constitution and stabilising the nation through the instrument of the doctrine of necessity during the illness of President Umar Yar’Adua.
Mark said the achievements of the Sixth Senate should challenge the incoming Senate to do better in view of the experiences garnered over the years.
Mark also used to opportunity to chastise senators who persistently kept away from the Senate, describing it as poor representation.
He said, “I think I have to say a word or two about attendance. We have a register there where senators are supposed to sign. I looked at the records it is as Anyim Ude rightly pointed out, since January to May there are senators who have not shown up on the floor and I don’t think that that is representative enough.
“When people are voted in to come to the Senate, they must make sure that they attend plenary sitting. There are senators on the two back rolls there at the centre who were always regular. Again when I looked at the register some of them missed only four times, some of them five times; a situation where some did not show up for six months and others were here everyday is not the best for the Senate.”
Meanwhile, the Senate indicated on Thursday that it received 514 bills in the last four years, but passed 91 as at June 2, 2011.
Chairman of the Senate Business and Rules Committee, Aloysius Etuk, told journalists that the bills passed included executive, private member and bills from the House of Representatives.
“Four hundred and fifty eight of these bills were read for the first time, 130 bills passed second reading, while four bills were negative. It will also interest you to know that 91 bills were considered and passed between June 5, 2007 and June 1, 2011,” he said.
He also said the Senate passed a total of 92 resolutions within its life time. Etuk listed the landmark bills passed by the Senate as the National Health Bill, Hydroelectric Power Producing Areas Development Commission Bill, Freedom of Information bill, Prevention of Terrorism bill, National Minimum Wage Bill, Anti-money Laundering Bill, National Sovereign Investment Authority Bill, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria Bill, Alteration of the 1999 Constitution Bill and FCT Abuja Area Councils Bill, among others.
By Oluwole Josiah, Abuja                              Courtesy Of: Punch