I Want To Leave Behind A More Effective, Impactful Senate, Says Saraki

President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar
Bukola Saraki, has stated, ahead of the
resumption of the Senate from its annual
recess, that his focus since he assumed
office as the presiding officer of the 8th
Senate on the 9th of June 2015, has been
to build an effective and efficient
legislature that directly impacts the lives of
all Nigerians.



In a statement signed by his Special
Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph
Olaniyonu, Saraki emphasized that the role
of the legislature in a young democracy
like Nigeria is often misconstrued, hence,
it is necessary for the National Assembly to
work towards positively influencing the
lives of all Nigerians through its powers of
lawmaking, oversight and advocacy.



“The President of the Senate is just first
amongst equals,” Saraki said, “However,
what always motivates me is that drive to
leave this institution better than we met it.




I always like to leave a place stronger than
I met it, and more capable to deliver on its
constitutional role and functions than
how it was before I got there.



“The difference between democracy and
dictatorship is parliament. This is why I tell
people that it is not about who the Senate
President, the President, or the Chief
Justice of Nigeria is, we must always work
to strengthen all our institutions.



“For example, in four years, I’m gone.


Somebody else will be there, but the
institution will always remain. If you have
a weak parliament that is not effectively
able to champion the needs of the people,
you will have a weak democracy. However,
because of myopic interests at times,
some people do not see why we must
protect the mandates and integrity of
these institutions.



“When we decided to have a presidential
system of governance, it was based on the
fact that there must be checks and
balances.




When these safeguards are in
place, it strengthens our democracy and
promotes the sort of collaboration across
the board that helps us meet the needs of
Nigerians,” the President of the Senate
said.



Saraki also emphasized that the 8th
Senate will continue to remain committed
to people-centered governance.



“Moving forward, we will continue to
target laws and interventions that will
have direct benefits to all Nigerians. We
have started this with our economic
priority bills, and we can see the impact
with the uptick in banks now lending to
more MSMEs. However we will not stop
here.


“With the slight improvement in our
economy, it now behoves on all of us, the
executive and the legislature, to work
towards ensuring that these
improvements translate directly to the
pockets of Nigerians and the rising cost of
living across the country. We have a lot of
work ahead of us,” he said.


END

Signed:

Yusuph Olaniyonu

Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to
the President of the Senate


Source-Voplink