Executive and the 8th National Assembly as exhibited by the lawmakers
at the joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, during the
presentation of the 2018 Budget by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of
the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Dr.
Mohammed Ibn Chambers, gave the commendation when he visited the
President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, in Abuja on
Wednesday.
The former ECOWAS boss, according to a statement by the Chief Press
Secretary to the President of the Senate, Sanni Onogu, in Abuja, said
the excellent collaboration between the executive and the legislature
augurs well not just for the stability and peace of the country, the
ECOWAS subregion and indeed, Africa in general.
He said that the visit to the leadership of the National Assembly was
part of the UN's consultation with relevant stakeholders as the
country prepares for the 2019 general elections.
Chambers said: "First and foremost, allow me, Mr. President, to
express our appreciation and indeed our admiration for what we
witnessed yesterday (Tuesday), during the joint session of the
National Assembly to receive the budget statement of the President of
the Republic and indeed the very collaborative atmosphere that
characterized that important constitutional exercise by the President
of the Republic.
"We all know that when such collaboration exists between these two key
arms of government, it augurs well for Nigeria and by extension the
West African subregion and indeed Africa as a whole.
"The UN Secretary General has always admired the leadership of this
country and that leadership is a shared leadership by the Executive,
the Legislature and of course the Judiciary and other civil societies
and important stakeholders.
"Therefore, what we witnessed was truly admirable and we want to you
commend you as leader of Senate and leader of the National Assembly
for that," Chambers said.
In his response to the remarks of the UN Scribe, Saraki stated that
the National Assembly, irrespective of party affiliations, will
continue to "work closely" with the executive to enable the President
achieve his developmental agenda for the overall benefit of Nigerians.
"We are always ready to work very closely with the executive," Saraki
said. "We are partners in progress and we believe that the success of
the administration would truly depend on the collaboration between the
two arms of government and we have both seen that sense of
responsibility.
"We are all committed across party lines in the National Assembly and
we will work with Mr. President for the success of the administration
and for him to be able to deliver on his promises and to be able to do
that we must be able to work very closely together.
"What you saw yesterday (Tuesday) is really an indication of what you
will see from now going forward so that some of those promises we need
to address and bring to fruition will happen," Saraki stated.
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