In the four years of the 9th Assembly of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, 105 bills were passed into law while 131 motions were moved and adopted just as 93 matters of public importance were presented and acted upon.
The disclosure was made on Thursday, when the Assembly held a valedictory plenary session to mark the end of the 9th Assembly presided over by the Speaker, Abubakar Sulaiman.
The Speaker in his valedictory speech added that, “This Assembly, in four years, has passed 105 Bills into Law. 55 of which are Executive Bills while 50 are private/member Bills. We have equally moved 131 motions, 93 matters of urgent public importance, received 54 messages from the Executive, received 22 petitions and 102 committee reports were laid before the Assembly.”
He expressed gratitude to Almighty Allah who gave them the opportunity and sustained their lives to serve the various Constituencies and the State for four years.
According to him, “Four years ago, we started this journey as members of the Bauchi State House of Assembly. It’s indeed a great privilege for all of us to get this rare opportunity to represent our various Constituencies. I congratulate all of us for successfully delivering this mandate.”
“However, on a sad note, midway to this journey, we lost our respected colleague, Hon. Musa Mante Baraza of Dass Constituency. His loss had hugely shocked and pained all of us. The memory of our moments with him will remain indelible in our minds. May I at this juncture ask for one minute silence and special prayer in honour of Late Hon. Mante by the Deputy Speaker Hon. Danlami Ahmed Kawule,” he said.
The Speaker continued, “My Honourable Colleagues, at this juncture, from the bottom of my heart, I want to sincerely extend my deep appreciation, on behalf of Ningi Central Constituency, for putting your trust on me in which you elected me as Speaker of this Honourable House and supported me through thin and thick to deliver. Producing a Speaker has been a lifetime dream of my Local Government, Ningi, we are grateful to you for making our lifetime dream come true.”
According to him, “With your support, I have risen through the ranks to become the Vice Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria North-East Zone and subsequently the Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria. I am happy that with your support and prayer, I have taken my Constituency, the Honourable House and our dear State to the national limelight where we contributed positively in nation building.”
He added; “Despite the hitches we faced at inception and the effects of covid-19, we were able to overcome the challenges and we have done creditably well in terms of legislation, representation, oversight functions and other responsibilities.”
He boasted that the Assembly has effectively and efficiently carried out oversight functions by strictly scrutinizing all the activities of MDAs in order to make sure that the people of the State are not shortchanged by any public official or contractor.
He also said that, “We have ensured that our people got value for the resources expended in every MDA. We have partnered with the Executive Arm and made sure all leakages of our precious though meagre resources are effectively blocked.”
The Minority Leader, Hon. Bakoji Aliyu Bobbo representing Chiroma Constituency thanked the opposition APC Members for the cooperation they have given in the smooth running of the House and PDP administration.
According to him, “We started with difficulties but Allah brought relief because of the cooperation the APC members gave. We thank APC members on behalf of the Bauchi State Government.”
Hon. Bobbo also thanked his Constituency for giving him opportunity to serve them for two terms and for the opportunity to serve our dear State just as he also thanked the staff of the assembly for the cooperation and guidance they have given them especially his committee secretary.
The Minority Leader asked his colleagues to forgive each other and urged those who won return to be good ambassadors of the 9th Assembly.
