Aspiring candidate for the Senate Presidency, Bukola Saraki, has released a statement to mark the end of the seventh senate.
Giving an overview of the seventh senate, he was not as glowing about its achievements as the outgoing senate president David Mark had been yesterday.
Saraki expressed disappointment that the outgoing Senate did not act on the issue of the failed Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment exercise which led to the death of over a dozen young people seeking employment.
“I remember sadly, the events of some of our youths who went to seek employment from government and lost their lives, needlessly, in a government arranged employment test.
“We missed, at this occasion, the opportunity of that ill-fated occasion to show leadership and properly set a new standard of responsibility in the conduct and attitude of our public office holders,” said Saraki, who has been on a media blitz in recent days talking about his vision for the Eight senate in the event that he emerges winner of the highly competitive race with Sen. Ahmed Lawan.
Saraki also said that it was improper that the Senate passed 46 bills in ten minutes this week. Even though he voted in support of the move when a voice vote was called because he considered it “important”, he however said history will not be kind to them.
He said, “The new Senate must now learn and show that it has the vigour and drive to work harder through enriched deliberations to pass important bills that form the core of its agenda rather than be seen as a last minute assembly where important bills are rolled through the process in 10 minutes.
“My view is that it was important that we pass those laws but I have my reservation on the railroading of over 46 bills in 10 minutes. History will not be too kind to us on this count.
“This is made even a little steeper by the commentary that must follow that after another four years, the National Assembly was not able to pass such water shed bills like the PIB, the Federal Competition Bill and the NOSDRA Bill amongst many other bills that have the regulatory potential of changing the way our economy operates.”
Saraki noted that the Seventh Senate had done well in a number of areas but noted that the last assembly could have done better.
