President of the Eighth Senate, Bukola Saraki, on Thursday spoke for the first time on the race for who emerges Senate President in the incoming Ninth Assembly.
Speaking in Abuja at the valedictory session to mark the end of the Fourth Session of the Eighth Senate, Saraki said either the Senate Majority Leader, Ahmad Lawan or his predecesdor, Ali Ndume, would emerge as the next Senate President.
The development comes as one of the leading contenders for the position, Danjuma Goje, stepped down for Lawan after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Between the former Majority Leader and the current one, it is clear that one of you will take over the leadership of the President of the Senate. Whoever emerges, I wish you the very best of luck. But I think that as you are part of this Eighth Senate, I am sure you will carry that experience into the Ninth Senate. I see, maybe it is providence that there are only two aspirants at this time as I speak. I wish you the very best to serve the interest of the people. And to ensure that you have in the back of your mind that power is transient,” Saraki said.
Inauguration of the Ninth Senate and election of Presiding Officers will hold on Tuesday, June 11, 2019.
BusinessDay reports that one of the major areas of conflict between the Executive and the Legislature is the national budget.
President Muhammadu Buhari has consistently accused the National Assembly of padding the budget. Recently, he accused the leadership of both chambers of being unpatriotic, particularly with the way the budgets were delayed during his first term in office.
But speaking on the matter during his valedictory speech, Saraki defended the role of the Legislature in increasing the national budget, insisting that it is within the purview of the National Assembly to do so.
According to him, the way out of friction between the two arms of government is constant consultations.
He said: “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. If the Executive sees the failure of a few of its appointees to secure confirmation by the Senate as a disagreement, then the relationship will not improve.
“If the Executive encourages its appointees who fail to secure Senate confirmation to remain in office, then there will continue to be disagreement. If the Executive believes the Legislature is a rubber stamp without the right to question its actions, then it will be a subversion of the Principles of Separation of Powers and Checks and Powers. My advice is that both arms of government have a role to play in our quest for good governance and their leadership should work for co-operation and fruitful engagement”.
Saraki listed bills passed by the Eighth Senate under his watch to include the establishment of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Not Too Young To Run Law, Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, among others.
Most of the senators who spoke on the floor gave the Eighth Senate a pass mark, having passed 312 bills in the last four years, surpassing the achievements of the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Senates in terms of approved bills.
Out of the 109 senators in the Eighth Senate, 66 will not return while 43 others will be in the Ninth Senate.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
