As the race to fill the principal officer’s positions in the National Assembly enters full swing, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has said that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) must involve the opposition political parties in the leadership to create stability in the legislature.
This is as he assured that the opposition cannot usurp the posts despite the configuration of the 10th National Assembly, in which parties other than the APC will have a strong presence.
The Senate President was fielding questions from correspondents after joining residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for a Sallah homage to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Friday.
Asked whether he was worried that the opposition could spring a surprise usurpation of the posts, he said: “I don’t think opposition parties are planning to usurp because it is presumptuous that the APC will not be a united party.
“APC is a united party and the opposition party will simply work with the APC majority for us to have stability because there is no way an opposition will decide who should be the senate president or who should be the speaker; it is our party and other leaders that will decide which zone or whoever, and the rest of us in the party will key in and of course, the opposition would have no option but to support.
“I don’t see anything wrong in the opposition talking to us, or we talking to the opposition to ensure that we’re on the same page because we need opposition to ensure that we get most of our constitutional amendments when the time is right, passed. because we can’t have the 73 in the Senate.
“So, you need 73 senators at least for you to have any constitutional amendment. So, you would need opposition.
“That’s why it is very, very critical, it is very essential that you work with opposition right from the beginning.
“Don’t ever think the opposition should be pushed away. I now believe in that. I only believe in the very bipartisan chamber because it is more productive. It is more stable, it’s calm, and it gives you the kind of outcome that you will never get with a very rancourous chamber. And I’ve seen it, we have done it.”
Lawan, who would not be drawn into whether he would recontest the senate president position when questioned on it, said: “I’m not here to answer whether I’m running for senate president or not.”
The Senate President praised outgoing President Buhari for his service in the last eight years, saying that the administration has done “tremendously well.”
He added: “The Buhari administration is closing on a very strong note. We have succeeded in reducing and minimizing the insecurity that we met in 2015.
“This administration has provided so much infrastructure across the country as no other administration did before. This administration, this President particularly assented to legislation more than any previous president, especially in the last four years.
“And we are so proud of this administration, that we have been able to achieve so much, and therefore, is a thing of joy for all of us to come and celebrate with Mr President, the Eid-el-Fitr today, Friday.”
Lawan noted that the legislature did much to support the administration to succeed, saying: “That is what the legislature and the executive arm of government and this President will go home by the grace of God after the 29th of May 2023, a very satisfied person.
“But of course, there are things that we have not been able to do well. The new administration of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu will come in and it is going to be a continuity with those areas that we’ve gotten well, and those areas that we have not been able to get well, we’ll rework them, we’ll retool them, we’ll rekindle them and ensure that we continue with the progressive APC administration.
“It is one administration, it’s one government, so to speak, and we’re proud to be part of everything that has happened in the last seven and a half years.”
Lawan noted that he has no regrets over his actions as Senate President even though he conceded that there are things he could not satisfactorily deal with.
Asked whether he has any regrets, he answered: “No no, no, no, no, no, you can’t say regrets. We can only say there are things that we have not been able to satisfactorily deal with. And this is natural because one we don’t have sufficient funds
“Two, as human beings, there are areas that naturally whatever you do, you may not get it right. But it’s for us to identify those areas, go back and rework them and this administration as it winds up a new one, an APC administration is coming in to take over and by the grace of God will have a national assembly that is also APC.
“So, we will continue to work on those areas that we need to improve. So, I am not going to talk about what areas because the time we have here is very limited.”
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