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President of the 9th Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan has disclosed that the Senate passed over 500 bills in four years out of over 1,129 bills that were presented on the floor of the Senate.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Senator Lawan made the disclosure in his remarks on Saturday during the valedictory session for the outgoing Senators of the 9th Assembly.
“Today, I address you with mixed emotions. On the one hand, there is a sense of accomplishment for all that we have achieved together.
“My gratitude is to God Almighty for the privilege of serving the people of Nigeria and being a part of this revered legislative body, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he stated.
Lawan said that the Senate accomplished some significant accomplishments over the last four years.
“In lawmaking, the 9th Senate introduced and successfully passed critical legislation that could reform and promote the economy, improve transparency in government processes.
“As of June 10, over 1,129 Bills were presented on the floor of the Senate, and over 500 were successfully passed.
“The President assented to 131 Bills; the highest of any Assembly in Nigeria’s history.
“In the last few days, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had assented to two Bills passed by the 9th National Assembly; the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Fifth Alteration) (No.37) Bill, 2023”.
“This extends the retirement age of high court judges and others, from 65 to 70 years. This was the first Bill to be signed by the President since taking the oath of office.
“Only yesterday (Friday), the 9th, he also assented to the Electricity Act 2023, which we had passed in July 2022.
“The new law replaces the Electricity and Power Sector Reform Act of 2005.”
He said that in the discharge of their representative functions, the 9th Senate aggregated and amplified the problems faced by constituents.
“Three hundred and sixty-one motions were moved in the 9th Senate and 488 Resolutions were passed.
“Through these various motions and resolutions, we called the government’s attention to specific issues and sought their intervention.”
Lawan said that beyond the impressive numbers, however, the laws cut across the 11 priority areas of their Legislative Agenda.
Lawan further said that to curb the proliferation of illegal arms and weapons, “We passed the Bill for the Establishment of a National Commission for Coordination and Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons.
“We passed other security-related laws, including the Police Act 2020, which introduced radical changes in the operations of the Nigerian Police Force and how they relate to the citizenry.”
Orji Kalu cries at Senate’s valedictory session, says Nigeria unfair to him
Chief Whip of the ninth Senate and former Abia State governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, broke down at the floor of the Senate on Saturday and wept while making contributions at the valedictory session of the chamber.
Kalu cried while narrating how he has been treated politically, especially by those he helped build the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that he spent his money to nurture.
Kalu who started weeping at 1.19 pm, said, “Before I came into politics, I could buy anything money can buy. I’m not a thief. Those that put me in prison know the reason. They took over my businesses and wanted to kill me yet I survived it and I’m in the Senate with you.
“I have never lacked. While I was in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where I served for two terms as governor, I brought the money that they used in forming that party, every penny, in 1997 and 1998, and I later became a thief.
“People I gave transport money from my house in Victoria Island became agents. This is what Nigeria represents. Thank you for giving me these four years of uninterrupted support. This country is not fair.”
The senator who represented Abia North on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is among the returnee lawmakers aspiring for Senate presidency. He had argued repeatedly that with the President from the West, the Vice President from the North, it is only fair and just that the Senate President comes from the East.
Earlier in the session, the out-gone President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan said that the session was a special one against the backdrop that it would be used by the Senators to make remarks on the journey that started on June 11, 2019 and ended today.