By Naomi Sharang
President Bola Tinubu says nationhood and belief in one country will put Nigeria on the right path.
Tinubu stated this at a Lecture/Colloquium in honour of the 61st birthday of the President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio on Thursday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the event was “Legislative Agenda for National Development”.
In his remarks, Tinubu described Akpabio as a man who is committed to the value of national development.
The president said: “The opportunity you (Akpabio) offered us to listen to the lead speaker and his recommendations will definitely be looked into deeper legislative activities and collaboration with all of us.
“We will work together. While we consider the affairs of this country, the nationhood and the belief in one country will put us on the right path.
“Having you as a partner and Abbas as the Speaker, is good enough for me to succeed. Inshallah, we will succeed.
‘’I appreciate Godswill Akpabio, God will help you, God will guide you. I believe in the person of Godswill Akpabio; he is truly Godswill.
“I know him as a governor, as a commissioner in Akwa-Ibom. We share a vision even though he was a commissioner, he is extremely inquisitive.
“He transformed Akwa-Ibom tremendously. He built one of the most effective drainage systems in Akwa-Ibom. Today, up till now, no matter how heavy the rain is, you will never find casualties.
“All the other beautiful things you did, the stadium, the hotel, and caring for the lives of the people of Akwa-Ibom, is exceptionally great.”
Earlier, the Guest speaker, former President, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), said that for the country to tackle insecurity, peace and security must be developed.
“The first question is how we can find peace. Is it by the armed forces? It will be by executive and legislative processes.
“We can’t win, in my opinion, the war by armed forces. So I will suggest to the national assembly to consider the possibility of inviting the ethnic nationalities, the owners of Nigeria.
“The traditional rulers that are being ignored, I believe they have a hand in the constitutional process. If this is done we will achieve peace.
“Together with our traditional rulers who I think are being ignored in the process, we might be able to resolve Boko Haram, IPOB.”
He further recommended the unbundling of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which he said “is doing far too much.
“INEC is doing far too much. In the Uwais report, we recommended creating the electoral offences commission. I urge the 10th National Assembly to simply enact the recommendations.
”The Electoral Act makes a mockery of democracy, so we can correct that by passing all the recommendations of the Uwais Panel.”
On his part, Akpabio said that the Renewed Hope Agenda of the present administration “is real and this government is a correcting government.
“Our legislative agenda is going to be people-centred,” he said.
He also said that the national assembly would consider the recommendations spelt out by the guest speaker.
“We have taken note that we should unbundle INEC; we have taken note that we should involve our traditional rulers.
“We have taken note that most of the colonial laws are still in existence by virtue of the constitutional law given to us. We will work on these things,” he said.
Similarly, Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen said that Akpabio, throughout his distinguished career, showed valuable assistance, strategic thinking and innovative leadership.
The Deputy Senate President, Sen. Jibrin Barau, who was also the Host of the event, said that the colloquium was the culmination of events to mark the 61st birthday of Akpabio.
He described Akpabio as a leader par excellence who was always willing to give his quota to the development of the country.
“The time has come for us to draw attention to the critical mandate imposed on the Senate and the National Assembly by the Constitution.
“(We will) engender an inclusive process of executing the mandate by working with a broad section of our society to design a legislative agenda for national development.”
Barau further said that the National Assembly was in the process of reshaping the Constitution and legal frameworks that would make good governance a way of life and democratic consolidation the legitimate expectations of the people.
For the Chairman of the occasion and a former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, Akpabio has a date with destiny.
“You have emerged as President of the Senate at a time so much dexterity is required to redirect the course of our nation, reset our national agenda, and re- envision our future as a people.”
Anyim emphasised the need to align legislative agenda with the executive agenda.
He said that the agenda, when properly aligned, would reset national priorities, benchmark national interest and redefine development.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) also reports that the event attended by dignitaries across the country and the diplomatic corps including the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje and traditional rulers.(NAN)
Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz
