Expdonaloaded News; Why North-East should produce Senate President –Lawan

Aspirant to the office of the Senate president, Senator Ahmad Lawan has justified the quest of the North-East to occupy the seat.

In an interactive session with the media in Lagos yesterday, Lawan reflected on the battle for the Senate presidency, saying: “Giving the zone the slot will give it a sense of belonging,” regretting that, “the zone has been marginalised for a very long time in the scheme of things in Nigeria.”
He said the slot should be zoned to the North-East as a reward for its massive votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the general elections. The North-East, he insisted also needed  to be compensated for the disruption of its socio-economic life by Boko Haram in the last three years.
Lawan, who admitted  that public expectation of the incoming administration of Muhammadu Buhari was high, said the country deserved a Senate president, who could assist the incoming President to accomplish his anti-corruption drive, push for economic revival and security.
He said he was fit and eminently qualified for the office, describing himself as “a cosmopolitan legislator that has acquired experience in the National Assembly in the last 16 years as a member of the House of Representatives for eight years and senator for another eight years before my recent re-election into the Upper Chamber.”post by expdonaloaded.blogspot.com..He, however, ruled out the possibility of becoming a rubber-stamp Senate president, saying he would only be “a partner in progress with the executive in an atmosphere of cooperative governance.”While unfolding his vision for the Senate, Lawan, who holds a doctorate degree in Geographical Information Science, said: “I want to provide a 21st century Senate Presidency; a leadership that will ensure that we have a bi-partisan approach to legislative business. I will bring incorruptibility and credibility to the administration. Buhari was elected based on three issues-anti-corruption, fight against insurgency and economic revival. I can complement the anti-corruption stance of the President.
“Nigeria needs a serious anti-corruption fight. If we don’t fight corruption, the resources will go into private pockets. We need to block leakages. My public accounts background will be of help. The judicious financial management of our resources is a priority. We are coming to power at a time of dwindling resources. Those who pillage the treasury will have to be brought to book.”
The aspirant put nobody in doubt about his competence reminding, “I have worked in the two chambers. I know the sentiments, tendencies, and sensibilities of the two Houses. The 16 years of experience have enabled me to work with three Speakers-Buhari Salisu, Ghali N’aaba and Bello Masari. I have learned to be a team player. I like to work on the basis of consensus. This is required to build a bridge of understanding among political parties in the National Assembly. Good governance must be supported by the National Assembly. There must be service delivery. The 20 per cent capital expenditure/70 percent recurrent expenditure ratio is not acceptable to Nigerians. We must balance the budget and reduce recurrent expenditure to have a pro-people budget.
“We need to enforce our oversight functions. We should have statutory or mandatory period for oversight for every committee to go and monitor the usage of funds allocated to all sectors. This will curb embezzlement. We need a Senate that is focused. We need a pro-poor Senate leadership.”