President of the Senate, David Mark, has admitted
the high cost of governance in Nigeria, promising that the new
leadership of the National Assembly will cut it down across all sections
of the Federal Government.
Mark made the commitment in his inaugural speech after he was elected again as the President of the Senate on Monday.
He said, “To truly lay the foundation for Nigeria’s Next 50 Years, this session of the Senate and National Assembly has to be truly transformational in all ramifications. We need to be transformational in the depth and content of our work, legislation, representation and oversight. Our legislative agenda is enormous. Indeed, the harvest is plenty but the labourers are few.
“Our budgeting system needs a radical change. There is a need for collaboration between the Executive and National Assembly to ensure that Nigerians get a budget that can be effectively implemented.
“Nigerians complain that our democracy is too expensive. We, as representatives of the people, must initiate legislations that will reduce cost of governance at all levels thereby freeing resources to attend to the basic needs of the people.”
He promised that the Senate would identify and prioritise key areas where legislations would be required for the rapid transformation of the economy and polity, noting that the analytical capacity of the National Assembly as it relates to budgeting and oversight functions, would be strengthened.
“Our target is that, hopefully, this session of the National Assembly shall set a historic record by passing very critical legislations that would propel Nigeria to the 20 most advanced economies,” he said.
The Senate President noted that the current session of the National Assembly would render a historic account to the Nigerian people on how it laid the foundation for a new Nigeria, adding that such realisation called for landmark legislations to change the course of history for the present and future generations.
He further said that since President Goodluck Jonahan made transformation as the focus of his campaign, expectations were high, and legislators should rise up to the challenge to ensure that their constituencies benefited from the expected development in power, food, health, education, security, shelter and transport system.
“Our federation and economy need strengthening; our youths need jobs. To achieve these, we need appropriate laws and institutions,” he said.
He also said that it was historical that for the first time a President of the Senate was re-elected to preside over the succeeding session and promised to be honest and transparent.
He said, “The last National Assembly was very responsive and provided among other high impact legislations, the legal basis and budgetary allocation that were critical to the success of the last election. Our electoral system and our democracy are certainly getting better.”
He however warned that only team work would make their individual efforts at rebuilding the nation fruitful.
“To accomplish more, we would have to listen and consult more with the civil society, the organised private sector, and other major stakeholders,” he said.
Mark congratulated his deputy, Ekweremadu, and senators for their elections and urged all of them to be patriotic and diligent in their legislative task.
By Oluwole Josiah, Abuja Courtesy Of: Punch
Mark made the commitment in his inaugural speech after he was elected again as the President of the Senate on Monday.
He said, “To truly lay the foundation for Nigeria’s Next 50 Years, this session of the Senate and National Assembly has to be truly transformational in all ramifications. We need to be transformational in the depth and content of our work, legislation, representation and oversight. Our legislative agenda is enormous. Indeed, the harvest is plenty but the labourers are few.
“Our budgeting system needs a radical change. There is a need for collaboration between the Executive and National Assembly to ensure that Nigerians get a budget that can be effectively implemented.
“Nigerians complain that our democracy is too expensive. We, as representatives of the people, must initiate legislations that will reduce cost of governance at all levels thereby freeing resources to attend to the basic needs of the people.”
He promised that the Senate would identify and prioritise key areas where legislations would be required for the rapid transformation of the economy and polity, noting that the analytical capacity of the National Assembly as it relates to budgeting and oversight functions, would be strengthened.
“Our target is that, hopefully, this session of the National Assembly shall set a historic record by passing very critical legislations that would propel Nigeria to the 20 most advanced economies,” he said.
The Senate President noted that the current session of the National Assembly would render a historic account to the Nigerian people on how it laid the foundation for a new Nigeria, adding that such realisation called for landmark legislations to change the course of history for the present and future generations.
He further said that since President Goodluck Jonahan made transformation as the focus of his campaign, expectations were high, and legislators should rise up to the challenge to ensure that their constituencies benefited from the expected development in power, food, health, education, security, shelter and transport system.
“Our federation and economy need strengthening; our youths need jobs. To achieve these, we need appropriate laws and institutions,” he said.
He also said that it was historical that for the first time a President of the Senate was re-elected to preside over the succeeding session and promised to be honest and transparent.
He said, “The last National Assembly was very responsive and provided among other high impact legislations, the legal basis and budgetary allocation that were critical to the success of the last election. Our electoral system and our democracy are certainly getting better.”
He however warned that only team work would make their individual efforts at rebuilding the nation fruitful.
“To accomplish more, we would have to listen and consult more with the civil society, the organised private sector, and other major stakeholders,” he said.
Mark congratulated his deputy, Ekweremadu, and senators for their elections and urged all of them to be patriotic and diligent in their legislative task.
By Oluwole Josiah, Abuja Courtesy Of: Punch
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