National Assembly will work for your good, Lawan assures Nigerians

By Usman Shuaibu

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, yesterday assured Nigerians that the ninth National Assembly would work for their good.
Lawan, said with the constitution of the relevant parliamentary committees of the Senate, the lawmakers are more prepared and ready to work for the good of the people.
The Senator leader spoke to journalists on at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, shortly after he returned from the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
“The ninth National Assembly has been properly constituted, especially with our committees in place,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Ola Awoniyi.
He added, “We are ready, we are willing, we are capable, we are enhanced to work as an institution; to ensure that we provide those ingredients and inputs that the executive would want for it to implement laudable projects to develop the country.”
The Senate President expressed gratitude to God for the opportunity to be part of the over 60,000 Nigerians that participated in this year’s Hajj.
He said, “We prayed for our country to achieve optimal security, to have stability, peace, and progress. We prayed for the National Assembly too. It is our prayer that the ninth National Assembly will be one to work for Nigerians and for the benefit of those who voted for us.
“Nigerians in Saudi Arabia came together with other Muslims worldwide to pray for global peace. I’m sure that with the message that we heard as part of this year’s pilgrimage and Eid generally, is a message of sacrifice, brotherhood, and unity.”
“Nigerians should thank God that we are still together, as such we should work to ensure that the unity of this country is not compromised,” he added.
He urged Nigerians to continue to pray for their leaders, noting that leaders were meant to serve the people and no leader would like to deliberately fail to perform.
Lawan also urged the citizens to continually support their leaders with prayers, backed by understanding with an assurance that Nigeria would reach those great heights.
The lawmaker also reiterated his appeal to the executive arm of government on the need to be on the same page with the National Assembly, to reverse what he called the undesirable trend of the current budget cycle in the country.
“We need to work for a budget that will be passed by the National Assembly by December. That requires that we work assiduously with the executive arm of government, to have the budget laid before the National Assembly by the end of September, and for the National Assembly to lock up the whole of October this year for budget defence, so that it can be processed and passed before we go on Christmas break. It is doable, it is achievable and attainable,” he said.
He added, “I’m sure if we are able to achieve that, Nigeria’s economy will witness a boost. Businesses in Nigeria will have something predictable to work with.
“I believe that together with the executive arm of government, we should be able to do this, as this is fundamental to us in the National Assembly, and I’m sure the executive arm is also looking forward to that.”