New Year: Ninth Assembly has broken many jinxes – Lawan

According to Lawan, “The ninth Assembly has been the breaker of many legislative jinxes in this Fourth Republic.”

By Jeffrey Agbo

Senate President Ahmad Lawan has commended Nigerians for having faith in their country and for their support of the ninth National Assembly.

In his New Year Message released on Saturday, Lawan said the National Assembly has remained unwavering in the implementation of its legislative agenda and kept faith with Nigerians.

The Senate President also urged Nigerians to seize the opportunities provided to take active part in the ongoing electoral process.

Lawan said the Electoral Act 2022 had ignited hope in the system and heightened expectations about the forthcoming general elections.

His New Year message reads, “I join fellow Nigerians in the joyful celebrations of this season with the great hope of a happy and prosperous 2023.

“As the year 2022 recedes into history, like any other year in history, we should thank Almighty God for the blessings and challenges of today, and for the hope of a better tomorrow.

“We also appreciate and commend our citizens for having faith in our nation and for always supporting efforts at building a virile nation.

“The ninth National Assembly has been a very active participant in this process of nation-building.

“At our inception in 2019, we set out a robust Legislative Agenda to advance our collective aspirations as a nation and make positive impacts in the lives of our people. A senate that works for Nigerians. We have remained unwavering in our commitment to the Agenda.

“It is less than six months to the end of this Assembly. I am proud to say that all of us have kept faith with the Nigerian people as their representatives.”

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Lawan further said, “The ninth Assembly has been the breaker of many legislative jinxes in this Fourth Republic, having recorded breakthroughs in many areas of our national legislative environment that had defied the interventions of previous Assemblies.

“First and foremost, we have enhanced stability in governance through productive cross-party collaboration with the other arms of government, particularly the Executive. This has yielded fruits in the unprecedented number of quality Bills passed by the National Assembly and duly signed into law by the President.

“Some of the most critical of such Bills that have been signed into law include the Deep Offshore and inland Basin Production Sharing Contract (Amendment) Act, 2019, Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020, Nigeria Police Reform Act, 2020, Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, and Electoral Act, 2022, just to mention a few. These are critical legislative interventions relevant to the promotion of good governance in our dear nation.

“For instance, the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill 2022 has rekindled interest in political participation in our country and raised confidence in our electoral process. We passed this Bill early enough and with some innovations to guarantee better conduct of our elections, especially beginning from the 2023 elections. 

“We were also able to reset our financial years to make our budget cycle stable and predictable. This change has helped immensely in the implementation of projects and programmes, as well as in general performance of the national budgets. This is one legacy of the ninth National Assembly that we have sustained since 2019, as reflected again, in the passage of the 2023 Appropriation Bill on Wednesday, 28th December 2022.

“I am immensely proud that the new Electoral Act has ignited fresh hope in the system and heightened expectations about the forthcoming general elections.

“In addition, we have provided every possible support to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to successfully conduct credible polls and we will continue to do so until that goal is accomplished.”

Lawan concluded, “The ninth National Assembly will keep providing the necessary legislative interventions for good governance till the end of its tenure in June 2023. I urge all of us Nigerians to take active part in the electoral process, towards achieving our collective goal of good governance for national prosperity and unity. I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2023.”