By Taiye Odewale Abuja
Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Aff airs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, has emphasised the need for Nigerians to judge the Upper Chamber of the 8th National Assembly by its achievements and facts, not by sentiments and propaganda. Speaking in Abuja yesterday on persistence negative perception of the Senate and by extension, the National Assembly in the minds of some Nigerians, Abdullahi stated that given the unprecedented performance of the 8th Senate, despite the distractions since it was inaugurated on the June 9, 2015, it remained the highest performing Senate in the history of the country.
He said: “Th e facts speak for themselves. Th is 8th Senate has already passed 128 Bills in 26 months. Th is is weighed against the 5th Senate that passed 129 bills in four years; the 6th Senate that passed 72 bills in four years and the 7th Senate that passed 128 bills in four years.
“When it comes to public petitions, in just 26 months, again, we have cleared 82 petitions. Th is is juxtaposed against the 6th and 7th Senate that cleared only six petitions in four years”. Th e Senate image maker also listed some of the noteworthy achievements of the 8th Senate, highlighting the fact that it had passed several historic Bills that had tripped up previous parliaments like the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB). “Th is is the same Senate that broke the Petroleum Industry Bill’s jinx in two years. Th is is also the same chamber that passed a comprehensive Electoral Reform Bill within 18-months of its inauguration. “I can keep on listing out our achievements. We also fi nished the Constitution Review process a full two years before the next election cycle; we have also passed seven economic priority Bills that will create more opportunities for private sector participation in our economy, and put millions of Nigerians back to work. “Additionally, let’s not forget the ‘Made in Nigeria’ amendment that we passed with our review of the Public Procurement Act. Th is amendment will create a myriad of opportunities for Nigerianowned businesses, by ensuring that they get fi rst-option priority in the government’s procurement process. “Moving forward, although we have already passed four anticorruption Bills to strengthen our nation’s capacity to fi ght graft, we are still committed to passing as many laws as we need to cut and curb corruption in Nigeria. “In this regard, when we hear people judge us by the propaganda of adverse elements in our polity, we would like to ask them to do their research and follow our work themselves, so that they can judge us by facts, not sentiments,” he stressed .
