POLITICS: My Saddest Day As Senate President - Bukola Saraki
Mr Saraki said this Thursday while delivering his valedictory speech. The
valedictory session marks the last sitting of the eighth Senate.
After other senators had taken turns to reflect on the eighth Senate, it was
the turn of Mr Saraki to deliver the last speech.
Before reading his speech, Mr Saraki asked his colleagues to observe a
minute silence in honour of late Senators Ali Wakili (Bauchi South), Isiaka
Adeleke (Osun West) and Bukar Mustapha (Katsina North) who passed
away in the course of the eight Senate.
Mr Saraki thanked his colleagues for their support even in the face of trials.
He noted that the Senate invasion, which led to the theft of the mace, would
remain ‘saddest’ moment for him.
“Distinguished colleagues, let me thank each and every one of you for your
contributions towards making this the historic Senate that it is. When I think
of the many trials and tribulations we have faced as an institution, and my
own personal travails, particularly at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, I am
humbled, because none of our achievements would have been possible
without the support and cooperation of the entire members of this chamber.
“The invasion of the National Assembly by armed security operatives in
August 2018 will live in infamy. This way down the line, however, I realise
that the day of that invasion was the saddest – but in many ways, it was
also a good day for asserting the independence of the legislature and the
triumph of democracy.
“It also turned out to be a showcase of the special relationship between this
chamber and the House, as Honourable Members stood in unison with their
Senate colleagues in defiance of the invaders. I thank the House of
Representatives for the remarkable unity of the two chambers of the 8th
National Assembly, for it was only in unity that we could withstand the
storm.”
Mr Saraki boasted of the conduct of his colleagues who he said had no
scandal in the last four years.
“In closing, distinguished colleagues, let me say that I am quite proud of the
fact that there was not a whiff of scandal in this Senate. You carried
yourselves with the bearing and sense of probity worthy of the office. You
played your part in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy. May the work we
have done here bear bountiful fruits in the length and breadth of this great
country of ours, and may it be so for years to come.”
As part of its achievements, Mr Saraki mentioned the Senate’s effort on
National Assembly Joint Public Hearing on the Budget, Senate’s roundtable,
intervention in the North East, intervention in the two-year strike of the
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), engagement with the
executive among others.
Other achievements, he said, include making public the National Assembly
budget and setting aside of one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund
(CRF) for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
“Just the other week, the Minister of Health called the 1 per cent CRF a
‘game changer’, no doubt because, by our activities in this chamber, we are
touching the lives of Nigerians and even those unborn.
“Speaking of commendations, our interventions on health also won plaudits
from international philanthropists Bill Gates and Bono, as well as the
Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Similarly, our
amendment of the Universal Basic Education Act, guaranteeing free
education for children aged nine to twelve, won praise from education rights
activist and Nobel Laureate, Malala Yousafzai.
“We cracked the code of several Bills that had eluded Senates before us. We
broke the decade-old Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into a quartet of workable
bills including the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), whose passage
stands as a major achievement of the eighth Senate. The Companies and
Allied Matters Act (CAMA) was the most comprehensive reform law
governing Nigeria’s business environment in nearly 30 years. The Nigeria
Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) Bill was one of the major anti-corruption
laws we passed, and it saved the country from being expelled from the global
body of the Egmont Group. And as recently as May 22, we passed the
Nigerian Football Federation Bill which had been caught in the legislative
bottleneck for 15 years,” he said.
Mr Saraki advised his successor to continue in that line.
On the other hand, the Senate president urged a more cordial relationship
between the executive and legislature.
“And as we say all the things we have done, we must also be reflective and
candid enough to acknowledge the things we didn’t do. It is my hope that
the ninth Senate will improve on our performance and deliver on those areas
that we were not quite able to touch.
“It is also important that I make some comments about Legislature-
Executive Relations. My own take is that if the Executive sees the National
Assembly’s work on the budget as interference despite the provision of the
constitution, then there will continue to be problems between both arms of
government.
“If the presidency refuses to have engagements and consultations with the
leadership of the National Assembly before the president submits the budget
to the legislature, then there will continue to be frictions.
Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/333739-my-
saddest-day-as-senate-president-saraki.html
valedictory session marks the last sitting of the eighth Senate.
After other senators had taken turns to reflect on the eighth Senate, it was
the turn of Mr Saraki to deliver the last speech.
Before reading his speech, Mr Saraki asked his colleagues to observe a
minute silence in honour of late Senators Ali Wakili (Bauchi South), Isiaka
Adeleke (Osun West) and Bukar Mustapha (Katsina North) who passed
away in the course of the eight Senate.
Mr Saraki thanked his colleagues for their support even in the face of trials.
He noted that the Senate invasion, which led to the theft of the mace, would
remain ‘saddest’ moment for him.
“Distinguished colleagues, let me thank each and every one of you for your
contributions towards making this the historic Senate that it is. When I think
of the many trials and tribulations we have faced as an institution, and my
own personal travails, particularly at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, I am
humbled, because none of our achievements would have been possible
without the support and cooperation of the entire members of this chamber.
“The invasion of the National Assembly by armed security operatives in
August 2018 will live in infamy. This way down the line, however, I realise
that the day of that invasion was the saddest – but in many ways, it was
also a good day for asserting the independence of the legislature and the
triumph of democracy.
“It also turned out to be a showcase of the special relationship between this
chamber and the House, as Honourable Members stood in unison with their
Senate colleagues in defiance of the invaders. I thank the House of
Representatives for the remarkable unity of the two chambers of the 8th
National Assembly, for it was only in unity that we could withstand the
storm.”
Mr Saraki boasted of the conduct of his colleagues who he said had no
scandal in the last four years.
“In closing, distinguished colleagues, let me say that I am quite proud of the
fact that there was not a whiff of scandal in this Senate. You carried
yourselves with the bearing and sense of probity worthy of the office. You
played your part in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy. May the work we
have done here bear bountiful fruits in the length and breadth of this great
country of ours, and may it be so for years to come.”
As part of its achievements, Mr Saraki mentioned the Senate’s effort on
National Assembly Joint Public Hearing on the Budget, Senate’s roundtable,
intervention in the North East, intervention in the two-year strike of the
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), engagement with the
executive among others.
Other achievements, he said, include making public the National Assembly
budget and setting aside of one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund
(CRF) for the Basic Health Care Provision Fund.
“Just the other week, the Minister of Health called the 1 per cent CRF a
‘game changer’, no doubt because, by our activities in this chamber, we are
touching the lives of Nigerians and even those unborn.
“Speaking of commendations, our interventions on health also won plaudits
from international philanthropists Bill Gates and Bono, as well as the
Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Similarly, our
amendment of the Universal Basic Education Act, guaranteeing free
education for children aged nine to twelve, won praise from education rights
activist and Nobel Laureate, Malala Yousafzai.
“We cracked the code of several Bills that had eluded Senates before us. We
broke the decade-old Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into a quartet of workable
bills including the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), whose passage
stands as a major achievement of the eighth Senate. The Companies and
Allied Matters Act (CAMA) was the most comprehensive reform law
governing Nigeria’s business environment in nearly 30 years. The Nigeria
Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) Bill was one of the major anti-corruption
laws we passed, and it saved the country from being expelled from the global
body of the Egmont Group. And as recently as May 22, we passed the
Nigerian Football Federation Bill which had been caught in the legislative
bottleneck for 15 years,” he said.
Mr Saraki advised his successor to continue in that line.
On the other hand, the Senate president urged a more cordial relationship
between the executive and legislature.
“And as we say all the things we have done, we must also be reflective and
candid enough to acknowledge the things we didn’t do. It is my hope that
the ninth Senate will improve on our performance and deliver on those areas
that we were not quite able to touch.
“It is also important that I make some comments about Legislature-
Executive Relations. My own take is that if the Executive sees the National
Assembly’s work on the budget as interference despite the provision of the
constitution, then there will continue to be problems between both arms of
government.
“If the presidency refuses to have engagements and consultations with the
leadership of the National Assembly before the president submits the budget
to the legislature, then there will continue to be frictions.
Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/333739-my-
saddest-day-as-senate-president-saraki.html
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