…NASS not appendage of executive- Akpabio
President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, said his efforts at transforming the economy were yielding results with the support of the National Assembly led by Godswill Akpabio, Senate president, and Tajudeen Abbas, speaker, House of Representatives.
The president stated this at a colloquium to mark the 61st birthday of the Senate president. According to him, the challenges facing the country would be jointly assessed by the executive and legislature to evolve implementable solutions for the good of Nigerians.
“Having Senate president, Akpabio, and the speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas, on my side is enough for me to succeed, and we will succeed,” he said.
Extolling the leadership of the Senate president, Tinubu said the chairman of the National Assembly has always shown commitment to national development, starting as a commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, where he understudied Lagos; drew up a blueprint and implemented it as a two-term governor.
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“I believe in the person of Godswill Akpabio. He is truly in God’s will for his life. I was governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, and he was a commissioner.
“As a commissioner, he was extremely inquisitive about what was going on in Lagos. I didn’t know then that he wanted to be a governor. As governor, he transformed Akwa Ibom tremendously,’’ the President stated.
President Tinubu recalled how some of the economic and social programmes initiated by Akpabio, when he was governor, developed the state, noting that the drainage system Akpabio constructed had saved many lives and livelihoods.
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On his part, Akpabio lauded Tinubu for his visionary leadership, demonstrated in the decisions taken so far to ensure improved security and a revamped economy.
“You are the first president who openly stepped out and said you believed that someone like me would make a difference as Senate president.
“It is not that the National Assembly is an appendage of the executive. President Tinubu was the first to get it right. Mr. President, there’s no country that you have been to that investors did not rush to meet with you,’’ Akpabio said.
Olisa Agbakoba, in his keynote address, appreciated the president for his courage and diligence in leading the nation on the path of growth and recovery with innovative ideas and for appointing competent hands to run the affairs of the country.
