By Abba – Eku Onyekachi, Abuja
Deputy President of the Senate, Barau I. Jubrin has explained the importance of a colloquium organized to mark Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s 61st birth day anniversary.
The senate president who recently celebrated his 61st birthday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state capital had a colloquium, with the theme: Legislative Agenda for National Development organized for him to that effect at the Transport Hilton Hotels, Abuja Thursday.
The Deputy Senate President made the explanations behind the importance and benefits of the celebration in a remark he read our before the audience.
He said: It is in this realization that all hands must be on deck to find solutions to our problems. This is the main objective of this colloquium.The National Assembly is in the process of reshaping our constitution and legal frameworks, that will make good governance a way of life and democratic consolidation the legitimate expectations of the people. We see a nexus between effective leadership, strong institutions and good governance.”
He continued: “There is no doubt in our minds that Nigerians want effective public services, world-class infrastructure and access to basic services, like quality health care, food security, quality education at all levels, housing, water and sanitation. There is no doubt that Nigerians want to live in peace and exploit our vast God-given resources for the benefit of all our people.”
“There is no doubt that Nigerians value democracy and would love to live together in peace and harmony. The good thing is that the current administration led by our dear President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in collaboration with the National Assembly is determined to deal with the aforementioned issues in order to usher in prosperity into our country.”
On this note, I would like to repeat that the purpose of this colloquium is to invite the people who elected us to show greater interest in the process of legislation and to participate in finding a common ground that produces a consensus on how to maintain law and order, improve governance and put our nation on the path of growth and sustainable development.
While welcoming the audience earlier at the colloquium, former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim said that the theme was intended to create a direction for the national legislative activities of the 10th National Assembly, even as he hailed Akpabio for using the birthday celebration to provide a platform for a national discourse on how to strengthen the legislature for greater contributions to Nation building.
Noting that that alignment of the legislative agenda with the executive agenda cannot be overemphasized Anyim therefore observed that when properly aligned, will reset national priorities, bench mark national interest and redefine development to include the national cohesion/integration as an indispensable tool for political stability, economic wellbeing and security of lives and property as fundamental essence of government, rule of law and protection of citizens’ rights as the foundation for patriotism.
The former Senate president therefore reminded him that it would be his ability to deliver on the national agenda that will make his leadership of the 10th National Assembly uncommon.
