President Muhammadu Buhari has called for stronger executive/legislative synergy for realization of the next level agenda of his administration aimed at transforming all sectors of the country.
Buhari who made call in an address at the official presentation/unveiling of the House of Representatives Legislative agenda (2019 -2020) in Abuja expressed the willingness and readiness to go extra miles to continue with the already cordiality as well as cooperation between the legislature and the executive.
Represented by the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abubakar, the President noted that the legislative agenda was carefully thought out, crafted, coordinated for the benefit of the country.
“It is through this agenda that the legislature in cooperation with the executive will be able to provide the needed goods and services to the people and to protect the people.
“During budget defence, I assured you that all the Ministers and MDAs will appear before the National Assembly to defend their budget. When we do anything short of that, that means we are undermining the cooperation between the executive and the legislature and may be undermining the progress of the country”, he said.
Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House in his speech said, the agenda which is a product of extensive deliberation both within and outside the National Assembly is aimed at driving economic growth, social stability, greater equality among other development indices.
Gbajabiamila stated that the purpose of the agenda is to among others, reform the way the House of Representatives manages its own affairs in every area from the administration of its finances to the operations of the committee system and the process of vote taking and recording in the House.
“We have collaborated with the private sector to outline a set of objectives and develop a programme of activities that will facilitate increased investment, encourage innovation and drive economic growth.
“We will act to protect those who are most vulnerable amongst us, doing well to remember always, the words of Hubert Humphrey, that great American statesman who said, “the moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.
“We will seek through legislation and oversight, engagement and collaboration, the achievement of a kinder, gentler, more prosperous nation, so that we may leave as our legacy, a bequest of love and promise greater than anything else that has come before”, the Speaker noted.
James Kwen, Abuja
