By Abdulateeef Bamgbose
National Assembly will resume plenary tomorrow, May 6, to continue with the pursuit of the mandate of the electorate.
In a statement made available to newsmen, the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, said “the Senate will work with the executive to resolve all the lingering socio-political issues across the federation, including the situation in Rivers State. The essence is to ensure that all stakeholders come to terms on the need to address the root causes of those issues and ensure proper reconciliation of key actors in the overriding public interest.”
“The recent resurgence of insecurity in different parts of the federation, especially Benue, Borno, Katsina and Plateau, has caught our attention. As the foremost democratic institution that makes laws for the peace, order and good government of the federation, the Senate will speed up engagement with key actors in the security sector and come up with mechanisms for the effective management of national security. We are committed to putting an end to all acts of terrorism across the federation.
“While the Senate was in recess, the presidency announced a number of appointments including the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mr Bayo Ojulari and the management of the South-South Development Commission. On this ground, we will be screening nominees for different appointments that require the approval of the Senate.”
The review of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) is going on steady. Now that we have resumed, the Constitution Review Committee chaired by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jubrin will speed up the review process with a view to strengthen our federal structure in the interest of all. Likewise, the Senate will kick-start the review of the Electoral Act, 2022 for the conduct of a more credible and transparent election.
“Finally, we have bills of strategic national interest that are pending before the Senate on different sectors of the economy. There is an urgent need to consider those bills and ensure their passage expeditiously. We will also encourage our special and standing committees to put in place public hearings that will give us the opportunity to engage with the electorate on various aspects of law-making and give their own input.”
