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Accuses  Barrister Ismaeel Ahmed, Maryam Uwais of mismanaging Social Investment Programme in the North

Wife of the president, Aisha Buhari, has indicted the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment, Mrs. Maryam Uwais, alleging that the implementation of Social Investment Programmes (SIP) failed in the North.

She made the disclosure on Saturday at an interactive programme for women with Theme: women we’re, where we are, where we expect to be in the next level at the State House, Abuja.

Mrs. Buhari further disclosed that she was assured that 30,000 women would benefit from the programme from Adamawa but as the administration winds down, she was yet to hear from them.

According to her: “Concerning the N500 billion voted for SIP, that was part of 2015 campaigns where they promised to give out N10,000, feed pupils in primary schools and give N5,000 to the poorest of the poorer.

“The SSA to the president on social investment is a lady from Kano and I’m sure that my husband decided to put somebody from Kano (there) because of the population and political impact it made. I have never asked how the money is being used or is being given out.  I met Barrister (one of the President’s aides on SIP) once, and he promised me that for my state (Adamawa), we should have 30,000 women to be given N10,000. Up till now, I haven’t heard from him.

“I don’t want to raise an alarm that my state did not benefit from it (where the SGF come from). I kept quiet because I don’t want people to say that I talk too much.

“Recently I saw a 74-year-old man selling petty things in Kano, I asked him how much was his capital, he told me between N3,000 and N4,000. Don’t forget that we had campaigned to give the poorest of the poor, N5,000 every month.

“So I don’t know where the social investment… Maybe, it worked out in some states. In my own state, only a local government benefited out of the 22. I didn’t ask what happened and I don’t want to know for it failed woefully in Kano; it’s not a good sign and it’s not a good thing. We have a lot of women that do business locally; due to the cultural thing in the North, they are at home doing their businesses. Some are millionaires, some have thousands of naira; they need the assistance, but they do not get it. Most northern women do not belong to any market association

“I was expecting that N500 billion to be utilised in different methods in the North for the aim to be achieved. I don’t know the method they used but most of the northern states did not get it. My state did not get it,” he said.

“How many of you got it in your states?

My state did not benefit from it,” the women chorused.

Then Mrs. Buhari added: “It worked out well in a situation whereby they had market associations but I was thinking different methods should be used in the North.”

She also expressed reservations over the $16 million counterpart fund expended on mosquito nets.

“I have heard about mosquito nets for which Nigeria paid $16m as counterpart funding. I asked them to give my own share of the net to send on my village people. But I didn’t get that.

“They have spent $16 million on buying mosquito nets; I did not get it; maybe some people have got it. But I feel that’s my opinion; $16 million is enough to fumigate mosquitoes in Nigeria. That’s my opinion,” she said.

Mrs. Buhari, however, thanked the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, for including women in the inaugural activities of the president for second term.

“I will also like to use this opportunity to thank the SGF for including women in the inaugural activities of Mr. President; this is what is called the next level. They didn’t allow us to participate in politics but now they have started given us hope that we can be involved in certain things,” she said.

She also disclosed how she managed to include herself in an anti-drug committee chaired by a former military administrator of Lagos, Buba Marwa.

“I also managed to put myself as member of the committee and the wife of the Vice President. The wife of the Vice President has worked very well; it took her one year to go round schools in Abuja because of the level of abuse. Many girls don’t go to school because they are afraid of being raped while returning from school or when their parents are away.

“You know most of their parents are farmers. The revelation is beyond comment. I asked her to publicise her discovery, but she didn’t; if she had done so, it would have served as a lesson,” she said.

The wife of the president disclosed that the president had provided N12 billion  for the treatment of trauma cases in across the country.

“Over N12 billion has been released by the president to take care of trauma cases across the country. Can you please monitor the money? The ministers are going very soon and the money is being released,” she said.

Mrs. Buhari pleaded with the All  Progressives Congress (APC) to refund the money women used in purchasing nomination forms in the last 2019 elections.

She said women were marginalised in the elections despite their effort to get elected.

She advised the women not to relent in the pursuit of their dreams and promised to continue to champion their course

Honourable Mai Mala Buni is the Governor-elect of Yobe State. He recently resigned as the National Secretary of the APC. In this interview, he X-rays the role of the ruling party and its leaders ahead of the elections of leaders of the National Assembly and his plans for Yobe as he prepares to assume the leadership of the state on May 29.

Sir, you are the elected Governor of Yobe State in the North East, and your party, the APC, has zoned the seat of the senate president to the zone. However, Senators Ahmad Lawan, Ali Ndume and Danjuma Goje have indicated interests to vie for the office. Do you not think some will say there is no cooperation among your party’s leaders in the region?

 As you are aware, the party has already endorsed the Senate Leader, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, as its preferred candidate. What is expected of every loyal party member is to support the position of the party in this regard. However, we have seen Sen. Ali Ndume who has also declared his ambition; and there are speculations surrounding the ambition of Sen. Danjuma Goje who is yet to formally declare his ambition to contest for the office. That party had been magnanimous to zone the office to the North East and went further to endorse Sen. Lawan; there is obviously wisdom in the party’s decision and choice of Ahmad Lawan, so the two other senators are expected to accept and reason along the party’s decision in the interest of unity, democracy, the North East and party supremacy.

The reason is simple: apart from the party, other key stakeholders, including governors, returning and newly elected senators, party chieftains, youth and women groups across Nigeria have equally endorsed the decision of the party in supporting Sen. Lawan for President of the 9th Senate.

When you receive such support from these stakeholders, it demonstrates the strength of the party and the popularity of its decisions. As a stakeholder myself, I want to personally appreciate the governors, members of the National Assembly, party chieftains and other organisations for their respect for the party structure and leadership. This gives us hope that our democracy is growing. Most importantly, the North East had in the last 10 years suffered unprecedented onslaught by insurgency; this is the time for us to recover by coming together to get Sen. Lawan to the saddle. Borno and Yobe are one and the same thing, and what goes to Yobe is as good as going to Borno.

It is the same for Gombe where Sen. Goje comes from. The benefit will also accrue to Bauchi, Taraba, Adamawa, the whole of the North and Nigeria at large. Looking at our experience in the last four years, the frosty executive-legislative relationship did not help the APC-led Federal Government. It was a disaster characterised by deliberate sabotage to see President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration failing to execute its policies and programmes. Budgets, bills and confirmation of appointees were deliberately delayed and withheld to make the government incapacitated.

 With this in mind, no reasonable party would want a repeat of such disaster; it has to take a position to ensure the election of credible and competent officers for the National Assembly to support the executive to execute the party’s campaign promises to Nigerians. The opposition PDP, including some APC members, see the decision as an attempt to impose leadership on the National Assembly
What is your reaction to this?

 It is natural that the opposition party will make such baseless allegation because they benefit from any possible division within APC; just like they did in 2015. They are hoping for another crack in the ruling party for them to take advantage of it. But let me assure you that they will be disappointed this time because the perceived reservation would soon be sorted out. APC senators will soon sort themselves out to remain a one united family. Assuming the ruling APC allows the contest without a sense of direction, we would be accused of indiscretion. Some people would pour all sorts of insult on us; that we didn’t learn from the mistakes of 2015. I strongly believe those accusing the party of taking a position are just being mischievous. It may interest you to note that it is an established norm in advanced democracies that the ruling party shows interest in who occupies what office to effectively implement the party’s manifesto.

The political parties throw their weight behind competent and capable candidates for the leadership of the assemblies. In fact, it is the best standard practice for political parties to strategise and adopt a common front in presenting their candidates for offices in the legislative assemblies. Party supremacy is key in decision making on all issues involving the party to foster unity, maintain discipline and promote democracy.

Therefore, we should always consider decisions taken by the party to be in the best interest of its members and the country. We should also remember that the senators contested on the platform of the party. They owe the party the desired loyalty and respect and, not to allow personal ambitions to supersede our collective interest. I wish to take this opportunity to once again commend the stakeholders who stick to and support the party. Their contributions to actualise the party’s wishes for a credible leadership that will support President Muhammadu Buhari’s strive to improve the lives of Nigerians is highly commendable.

But despite the party’s endorsement of Sen. Lawan, Sen. Ndume is insisting to contest. How effective is the party’s supremacy and its grip on its members? You may wish to know that the idea of Sen. Ahmed Lawan contesting the senate presidency was initiated by his colleagues who felt he has the prerequisite for a meaningful and purposeful leadership of the senate. The APC senators, in appreciation of the role played by the senate leader in stabilising the National Assembly APC caucus at a time when Sen. Bukola Sarki led the defection of some senators from APC to PDP, and the senate leader exhibited excellent leadership skills that promoted robust relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government, decided to adopt him. This in addition to his experience in legislation and exposure, making him a better choice hence his endorsement by the party.

The party’s concern is equally important because of the need to have a focused leadership. A leadership that is vibrant, independent and supportive of the ideals of the party. I am confident that negotiations would be intensified and Senators Ndume and Goje will reconsider their positions, respect the party’s decision to have a united position and support the election of Ahmed Lawan as Senate President of the 9th Assembly. What measures will you suggest APC should adopt to avoid a repeat of the 2015 experience? First of all, the vicious and desperate ambition for the senate leadership in 2015 does not exist now. Secondly, the betrayal by party members in 2015 is no longer in vogue. This time, more vibrant, committed and patriotic lawmakers have been elected, replacing some of those who went against the party. I am confident that the party will be approaching the National Assembly leadership elections with a united front. Similarly, there is a general understanding that the unnecessary antagonistic disposition of the National Assembly leadership against the presidency was counter-productive and did not do anybody any good.

The internal political wrangling was regrettable, unprofitable and unproductive. This affected delivery of dividends of democracy to Nigerians negatively. The consequences also affected the political fortunes of many politicians badly and the lost their re-election bids. It was in view of this terrible experience that the party rose promptly to endorse Sen. Lawan for a healthy, strong and robust working relationship between the executive and legislature.

You are a few days away from being sworn in as the Governor of Yobe State. What will be the priority areas of your government? The slogan of our campaign is “Continuity and consolidation”. We will continue and consolidate the achievements of the outgoing administration. The Gaidam administration has laid a good foundation in healthcare delivery, road construction, education, agriculture, youth and women empowerment and ensured prompt payment of salaries, pension and gratuity. These would be consolidated to serve the people better. Government will also explore and exploit agricultural and mineral potentials in the state to stimulate the economy, improve revenue and provide employment opportunities.

We will equally explore areas of Public Private Partnership (PPP) to invest in allied ventures. Yobe State has a lot of potentials that stimulate the economy to grow. We will explore these opportunities. We have seen situations where successors and predecessors disagree over issues, how immune are you from this tendency? I have spoken on this on several occasions. Insha Allah we shall have a government of continuity and consolidation. We have come a long way; what you are seeing in Yobe is a product of intensive prayers and fear of God.

 Ours would be a government that would expand the legacy policies and programmes of the Gaidam administration to further improve the lives of our people. Nobody can take his wealth of experience away from him, and we have every reason to tap from his guidance to effectively serve our people and take the state to higher greatness. Are you not shocked following the recent story that Yobe is one of the eight solvent states in the country? The governor effectively managed the little resources at his disposal to serve the purpose of government, and Insha Allah, we would continue from where he would stop. My biggest joy is that the template for good governance has been established and we will strive to sustain it so that posterity will judge us positively. Related 9th Assembly: Group storms NASS, asks Goje to declare for Senate presidency Inside ‘mad dash’ for Senate presidency Ninth Assembly: APC recommends Lawan for Senate Presidency Dear Esteemed reader, As part of our drive to keep improving the content of our newspaper, we are conducting a readership survey to enable us serve you better. Kindly take two minutes of your time to fill in this questionnaire. Thank you for your time.

Daily Trust

Yobe state governor-elect, Maimala Buni, has appealed to members of the upper chamber of the National Assembly on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to endorse the candidature of Senator Ahmad Lawan for Senate president.

The governor-elect made the appeal in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Damaturu.

AFRICAN JOURNALIST gathered that he said that Lawan, who became a senator in 2007 representing Yobe north senatorial district, had exhibited competence, loyalty, commitment and selflessness worthy of a good leader.

“There is no doubt that Senator Lawan is capable of giving the desired quality leadership needed for the implementation of the APC’s campaign promises to Nigerians,” he said.

The governor-elect said the party’s decision to endorse Lawan was to ensure that there was the needed understanding between the upper chamber and the executive to fast-track development and improve the lives of Nigerians.

“The wisdom behind the party endorsing Lawan for the Senate president was to ensure that the mistake of having another antagonistic leadership in the 9th senate is avoided in the interest of Nigerians and democracy.

“You cannot afford to be the ruling party, yet, having a divided house, as witnessed in the last four years of confrontation and sabotage. A situation where bills, including the budget, are unnecessarily delayed to frustrate the administration, must not be allowed to happen again,” he said.

He commended party stakeholders for supporting the endorsement of Senator Lawan.

“I am highly optimistic that those nursing ambition for the Senate president’s office would finally accept the party’s decision and support the preferred candidate of the party,” he said.

The race for who succeeds Senator Bukola Saraki as President of the 9th Senate and chairman of National Assembly is nearing its finished line between Senate Leader Ahmad Lawan (APC Yobe) and former Senate Leader Ali Ndume (APC Borno) as top contenders.

 There are rumours, that former Gombe Governor and chairman, Senate Panel on Appropriation, Danjuma Goje, may have been procrastinating and still weighing options for very obvious reasons.

The APC has recommended Lawan to senators-elect as the most suitable to head the legislative arm of the government in the 9th Assembly. The party settled for Lawan on the basis of seniority in parliament (1999 till date), seniority in ranking (Senate Leader), loyal and most consistent party member amongst all other contenders, free of all forms of malfeasance, ability to galvanize and provide purposeful leadership as demonstrated in the over three years he held sway as Senate Leader at a most difficult and unpredictable political turbulence prior to the build up to the 2019 general elections and post-elections developments within the PDP-led Senate .

The APC as a ruling party did not make any mistake in recommending Lawan for the number-three job, because the reasons for the party’s endorsement are incontestable and properly fit into all known parliamentary standards, including the United States. It is important to note that beyond the position of the APC, the citizens irrespective of political party affiliations, socio-cultural status or whichever field of endeavour, are a major stakeholder with a minimum expectation of who heads the legislature, which is the closest arm of government to the ordinary man.

 For this majority stakeholder, who roundly applauded the standards set by the Benue-born Senator David Mark, the emergence of Lawan as President of the Senate would send the signals that indeed Nigeria and Nigerians are clear-headed and on the tracks of ensuring progress  through people-oriented legislations, integrity and independence of the legislature;  constructive engagements with the other arms of the government with the view to putting in place laws, motions, resolutions that would positively affect the lives and well-being of Nigeria and Nigerians.

These major stakeholders home and in the Diaspora certainly would applaud the 9th Senate for giving them a Senate President they can all be proud of. Those who know Lawan refer to him as a workaholic senator and would not need to be told that he is at it again the moment he throws off his babariga and adjusts his lens. He works beyond normal closing hours and in some cases over the weekends.

As chairman of all the panels he has chaired in both House and Senate, Lawan would be the one to welcome his colleagues to committee meetings, investigations or public hearings and that underscores his commitment and how much he respects time. His roles in the establishment of a Federal University in Gashua (Yobe state) during the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, the long list of federal employments he has attracted to his state of Yobe since 1999, the various constituency projects and other interventions are still fresh on the minds of his constituents.

Lawan has always kept to his words on all issues, yes, it would require a reasonable amount of facts to convince him, which in itself is a show of strong leadership quality; but once you secure his consent you have a deal.

For those who know Lawan and have worked closely with him, know the lawmaker does not play to the gallery, his decisions are products of a careful assessment of the issues with fairness, equality and due process as a yardstick. This and many more are clear qualities of the kind of leadership that Nigeria craves to have at all levels.

Andrew Tyowase Oota write from Abuja

Anambra South Senator-elect, Mr Ifeanyi Ubah, has pinched tent with a group of elected lawmakers in the incoming 9th Senate led by Sen. Ahmed Lawan.

Elected under the Young Progressives Party (YPP) on Feb. 23, Ubah is one of the 11 senators-elect who were with Lawan at an interactive session with newsmen in Abuja recently.

Lawan, who represents Yobe North in the 8th Senate under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is seeking to lead the 9th Assembly as President of the Senate.

Ubah told newsmen at the forum that Lawan is a good man with the best experience in the Senate, hence his decision to pinch tent with him.

The Yobe lawmaker, who is the current Senate Leader, has been in the Upper Chamber since 1999.

“Lawan is a very good man, and has the best experience, I believe in the Senate. For me it is a free world, it is democracy.

“So, I am free, and I am pinching tent with him because I believe he is the kind of leader we need in the 9th Senate,’’ Ubah said.

Asked why he is associating with a member of the APC widely seen as an unwanted party in the South East, Ubah said he could not be an island in the Senate.

“It is a choice anybody has to make. I can’t be alone in the Senate. If any group comes up and wants to lead the Senate, it is a duty for me to look at them and see if I can pinch tent with them.

“What we are trying to bring to Nigeria under YPP is a revolution of change. But I cannot be an island in the Senate.

“I must join a group, which I see as progressive like us in YPP. Today, I have pinched tent with Ahmed Lawan,’’ he said.

The businessman and entrepreneur said he is bringing to the 9th Senate his wealth of experience in the economic and other sectors.

“I run the biggest platform in the downstream sector of the economy. If you look at sports, I don’t think any individual Nigerian has invested 10 per cent of what I have invested in Nigerian football in the last five years.

“When you talk of the maritime sector and other areas, I am big player. This is coupled with the fact that I am also a strict man.

“So, I n know what the common man in the street wants and how I can help to change the face of this country. It is very important at this particular point in time.

“I am sure you know I am also one of the biggest employers of labour in this country. So, I am coming to the senate with a lot of goodwill for the masses of the Nigerian and most especially for my senatorial district,‘’  he said.

Says he will Carry everyone along

Ahead of the inauguration of the 9th National Assembly and election of Presiding officers especially in the Senate, Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, All Progressives Congress, APC, Yobe North has disclosed that he would soon come up with his legislative agenda for the next Senate.

Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday night during the break of fast session with senators-elect, Senator Lawan who is contesting for the position of Senate President, said that the agenda would contain the direction and form, the ninth Senate would take when he becomes the next Senate President.

Senator Lawan who promised that he would carry everyone along when he becomes the Senate President, said that he will send the draft to individual senators-elect for their input before the document is unveiled to the public.

The Senate leader who noted that his lost in the contest in 2015 was God’s will that his aspiration then would not materialise, however commended his colleagues for their sacrifice and dedication in identifying with his cause, assuring that everybody would be carried along.

Lawan said, “I am overwhelmed by the presence of everybody here. We went through this process before in 2015. And those of us who were there then knew the kind of sacrifice, commitments, dedication that everybody gave. But it was the will of God that it will not be and it was never. But we thank God for His blessings. We are still around and are believing completely in His decision not to give us at that time.

“Our colleagues here, everybody has shown commitment. We are seeking the face of God, His blessings, His mercies in this enterprise once again. We are human beings. We can only see the physical. From the physical, we can see there is a lot of success in what we are doing.

The other thing that we don’t know is what God has kept to Himself. So, we will continue to pray for God’s intervention in this matter. And let me say that this is something that I personally feel that I have obligation to each and everyone here. And in fact, even those who are not with us at this time of effort to get to that office but of course, this is our campaign.

“In an enterprise like this, someone will start something but nobody here is a joiner. Everybody is part and parcel of the campaign team. What we referred to as campaign team was the initial take-off. But everyone should continue to give his commitment and whether we call meetings or have some interactions elsewhere, it is important that everybody plays that part.

And that is the campaign team. It doesn’t mean that we one, two, three people who are in the campaign team and every other person is not. It is completely for all of us. And I pray that God Almighty in this very Holy Month will continue to guide us, bless us and put us on the cause that will make us realise this mission and show us the path when challenges confront us. I believe that together we can achieve a lot, not only for the National Assembly but for this country.”

Senators-elect were at the meeting including Abba Moro, a former Minister and member of the main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Others were Senators Remi Tinubu, wife of the former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu; Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi,Bello Mandiyya,
Ifeanyi Ubah,Yusuf Ardo, Abdulfatai Buhari, Robert Boroffice, Barau Jibrin, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, Abdullahi Adamu, Francis Alimikhena, Ahmed Babba-Kaita, Dayo Adeyeye, Tijjani Kaura, Abdullahi Gumel, Adamu Bulkachuwa, Ovie Omo-Agege,among others.

Senate Leader, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday spoke on his ambition to become Nigeria’s ninth Senate President.

He told newsmen in Abuja that  his mission is to have a Senate and the National Assembly that will work for Nigerians, his ambition is not a do-or-die affair.

Lawan, who may likely face a tough battle against Senator Ali Ndume, said “we contested for this thing in 2015 and it was the will of God that I will not be Senate President and you will bear me witness that that did not stop me from going to the National Assembly to participate in activities of the Senate.

“I continued to represent my people as a Committee Chairman on Defence and I conducted myself as such and eventually I was elected the Senate leader and I continued to serve as Senate leader to date.

“Most of us believe that God Almighty that created us also has designed our lives from cradle to grave and I believe in that.

“So, it is not a do or die affair and I believe that should we not make it, that will not stop us from working to represent our people, do our oversight, to legislate for the good governance of this country, to support the Senate and the National Assembly and to support Mr. President to deliver the campaign promises of the APC as a political party”.

On the nation’s budgeting crisis, Lawan said: “Our approach in the National Assembly will be that we will talk amongst ourselves; we will tell ourselves that we want to pass the budget within three months. If we agree on that, then we will also have to agree on how we will achieve that.

”First, we should not leave the shores of Nigeria for anything unless it is health problem. We must stay around; ensure we have a time frame for budget defence. When I say time frame, I mean we will devote a whole month to it, not plenary unless it becomes absolutely necessary.

“We will approach the executive arm of government and discuss things with them. For Mr. President, there will be nothing more that will gladden his heart than having a budget passed within three months and I am sure it is the same for Nigerians.

“It will be a huge relief if we can achieve it. So, we will tell the Executive arm of government that no Minister, no chief executive officer of any MDA should leave this country unless it is absolutely necessary and inevitable without defending his or her budget or the budget of the ministry.

“That one month window should be the only window for budget defence. If any minister or any chief executive officer fails without cogent reasons to defend the budget of the ministry, then that window will be shut and the National Assembly should treat that proposal as it deems fits with all the necessary safeguards to ensure that there is no abuse.

“After the budget defence, we should have two solid months to have all the analysis we need, all the sub-committees would meet for their defence with the sub-committees in the House and the Senate and it is our hope and desire that before the Christmas break of the National Assembly, the budget should be sent to Mr. President for assent.”

 To zone remaining offices before inauguration

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed satisfaction with the level of support for its official candidates for the ninth Senate president and House of Representatives speaker, Senator Ahmad Lawan and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila respectively, revealing that the remaining leadership positions would soon be zoned.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Lanre Isa-Onilu, told Journalist yesterday that the APC had done the needful and was satisfied with the support for its candidates from its members.

“The fact remains that we have mobilized our members and we have told our members the party’s position and they are complying with it. We are satisfied with the support we have got so far,” he said.

He said the APC was still consulting and would announce the zoning of the remaining leadership positions for ninth National Assembly, before its inauguration in June.

Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan, says, every senator will count under his watch as President of the Senate in the ninth assembly.

Lawan, who represents the All Progressives Congress in the Yobe North Senatorial District, gave the assurance when he appeared on News Agency of Nigeria Forum in Abuja.

He said:  “We believe that we should be able to work together regardless of our political platforms. Every senator will count because every senator represents a senatorial district.

“My interactions with most of the senators-elect across all the parties have shown that we have people of experience, people of character and commitment elected into the ninth senate.

“And I want to harness the potentials, the experience of every one. Therefore, we will need to have some serious understandings between us regardless of our political parties.

“We need to achieve that unity and remain committed and focused in ensuring that we deliver what is expected of us as legislature.”

The lawmaker also said that the relationship between the upper and the lower houses in the National Assembly would be strengthened to deliver the needed service for the country’s development.

He said: “Because we run a bicameral arrangement, the Senate and the House must work together.

“We all know that no law becomes a law before it leaves the National Assembly, without the concurrence of the two chambers, before it reaches the executive arm of government or the president for assent.

“So we need to work together.”
Lawan, who acknowledged that opposition parties in the ninth assembly had a sizeable number, said to get the work done, cooperation among all parties would also be needed.

He said: “So we believe that we have to be together in the senate. Let me say that the APC has the majority but the PDP has over 40 senators-elect as opposition and YPP has one.

“This is to tell you that any serious commitment to ensuring that there is significant inclusion and contributions by the legislature, especially the senate, to governance from the 9th assembly will require the cooperation and partnerships among the various parties represented.”
According to him, I also believe that we have to have a decent and good cordial working relationship between the two arms of government.

He said: “I have seen what sour or bad relationship or broken or disconnected relationship can really do and what it does is to damage or dislocate governance.

“I have also witnessed how a cordial relationship, a relationship based on mutual respect, on partnership, on cooperation between the two arms of government, particularly how it makes governance, how it makes service delivery by government to the citizens easier,  better and faster.

“So, we have consciously chosen that we will work with the executive arm of government in a very cordial fashion because we believe it is the best way to go.

“We want Nigerians to benefit from their decision to elect us.”

He said since elected leaders were expected to represent the interest of the electorate, both the legislature and executive must work together “to ensure that we deliver on those necessities that citizens require in Nigeria”.

He added: “I believe that the ninth senate, with this kind of foresight, will be a darling of Nigerians because all Nigerians want to see is for government to work for them.

“And we are prepared to work with the executive arm of government to work for Nigerians.”

Senate Leader, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday said his battle for the Senate Presidency is not a do-or-die affair.

He also unfolded plans to devote three months to budget consideration if he is elected as the Senate President.

He said he will ensure the 9th National Assembly returns the nation to January-December budget timeline.

He said an effective budget cycle will be put in place in a manner that President Muhammadu Buhari will assent to budget on or before December 31st.

Lawan unfolded his plans when he met with Bureau Chiefs in Abuja against the backdrop of fierce contest for Senate Presidency.

He said: “The simple answer is it is not. We contested for this thing in 2015 and it was the will of God that I will not be Senate President and you will bear me witness that that did not stop me from going to the National Assembly to participate in activities of the Senate.

“I continued to represent my people as a committee Chairman on Defence and I conducted myself as such and eventually I was elected the Senate leader and I continued to serve as Senate leader to date.

“Most of us believe that God Almighty that created us also has designed our lives from cradle to grave and I believe in that.

“So, it is not a do or die affair and I believe that should we not make it, that will not stop us from working to represent our people, do our oversight, to legislate for the good governance of this country, to support the Senate and the National Assembly and to support Mr. President to deliver the campaign promises of the APC as a political party.  We are going to do that regardless. So, it is not a do -or- die affair.

On budgeting crisis in Nigeria, Lawan pledged to resolve it with a three-month consideration plan.

He said out of the three months, a month will be devoted to budget defence by Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

He added: “Even though the budgeting issue varies from time to time, sometimes the crisis may be for three months, four months and sometimes seven months.

“We believe that we can turn this around with the right attitude and it takes the two sides of government in this case the National Assembly and the Executive arm of government.

“Our approach in the National Assembly will be that we will talk amongst ourselves, we will tell ourselves that we want to pass a budget within three months.  If we agree on that, then we will also have to agree on how we will achieve that.

“First, we should not leave the Shores of Nigeria for anything unless it is health problem. We must stay around, ensure we have a timeframe for budget defence.

“When I say timeframe, I mean we will devote one whole month for budget defence, not plenary unless it becomes absolutely necessary.

“We will approach the Executive arm of government and discuss things with them.

“For Mr. President, there will be nothing more that will gladden his heart than having a budget passed within three months and I am sure it is the same for Nigerians.

“It will be a huge relief if we can achieve it. So, we will tell the Executive arm of government that no Minister, no chief executive officer of any MDA should leave this country unless it is absolutely necessary and inevitable without defending his or her budget or the budget of the ministry.

“That one month window should be the only window for budget defence. If any Minister or any chief executive officer fails without cogent reasons to defend the budget of the ministry, then that window will be shut and the National Assembly should treat that proposal as it deems fits with all the necessary safeguards to ensure that there is no abuse.

“After the budget defence, we should have two solid months to have all the analysis we need,  all the subcommittee will meet for their defence with the sub-committees in the House and the Senate and it is our hope and desire that before the Christmas break of the National Assembly,  the budget should be sent to Mr. President  for assent.

“We believe that this is doable and achievable. All we require is the will. I am sure every one of us in the 9th Senate and House of Representatives will have this kind of feeling that what we need to give to Nigerians is to set this budget issue right.”

He went on: “In fact, we should attempt to make the budget cycle  1st January- 31st December because this is important for our businesses in this country and outside Nigeria.

“We should have 12 calendar month of budget presentation because that will translate into massive infrastructure development, provision of services across the country for citizens. So, this is the way we intend to go”.

Responding to a question, Lawan said: “Our mission is to have a Senate and the National Assembly that work for Nigerians.

“What do Nigerians want today? They want to have an improvement in the security of their lives; an economy that works for everyone and they want corruption brought down to its knees. Nigerians want to live in peace with one another.”

Concerning transparency and the independence of the legislature, Lawan added: “I believe that we have to work together with the Executive with mutual respect and address the challenges that confront Nigerians today.

“Where we differ, we are going to resolve such issues in a very credible and respectful manner.

“We are not going to go into the market square to throw stones recklessly and we believe that there is interdependence between both arms and such would be respected

“We believe the openness which has been introduced by National Assembly should be continued and that would make us to function as representatives properly.”