Strong indications emerged Wednesday that Chairmanship of the 69 standing committees of the Senate when constituted, will cut across party lines with declaration of bipartisan running of the upper legislative chamber by the President of the Senate , Senator Ahmad Lawan.
This is even as the President of the Senate in the entire five appointments made on Wednesday, retained various aides of the immediate past Senate President, Bukola Saraki in different capacities .
Announcing the bipartisan approach of the 9th Senate at a media briefing , Lawan said: “We sought to be leaders in the national Assembly not for personal reason, we believe that our country needs us.
“Our country needs all hands on deck to deal with the numerous challenges of development. What that means is for us in the national assembly to remain focus and united to ensure that we perform our mandatory well spelt out functions in the constitution to deliver all those legislative interventions that are required for good governance to ensure that we act and sustain a bipartisan fashion of engagement in the senate and indeed in the national Assembly.
“It is encouraging and indeed very important to us that our election to the office of the President of the Senate and the Deputy President of the Senate were election that clearly shows that it is going to be a bipartisan senate and the national Assembly.
“This is a journey that has already been blessed by members of the National Assembly across party lines . We are going to take the advantage of the bipartisan aspect of the senate to work assiduously to work together for the interest of the country.
“We contested on the bases of bringing about a national assembly that would work for Nigerians. We are going to stick with that because Nigerians consciously cast their votes in the shape and manner of the National Assembly that we have today and we have no reason, no excuse not to work together, not to perform”.
He said though the bipartisan template upon which the 9th Senate and by extension, National Assembly will operate, will ensure that the instrumentality of oversight functions on various agencies of the executive arm of government is used for promotion of good governance but will not be confrontational .
“In the process of Governance we are expected to work with the executive , in a complementary type of relationship, that is based on cooperation, collaboration, synergy, and partnership.
“We are not in contention, and we would not be in contention with the executive arm of Government as we meant to serve the same people.
“We are meant to ensure that Nigeria get the services that they required and vote us to deliver and that is exactly what we would do.
“However as a legislature we also have that enviable role of over sighting the executive. We would even try to stretch out our oversight process not as we did before but we want to see an oversight that is structured from conception to the presentation of reports by our committees to the plenary of the senate at all times.
“We want to ensure that whoever is given a responsibility on the side of the executive discharges that responsibility. When the president appoints a minister he is expected to help the President perform those duties assigned to him to ensure that those who are to work with us should do it in such a manner that we are to work together to deliver the services”, he explained.
Meanwhile the President of the Senate , Ahmad Lawan in a statement issued by his Chief of Staff, Babagana Muhammad Aji, reappointed five out of the several aides that served his immediate predecessor, Senator Bukola Saraki.
Those appointed are Dr ( Mrs) Betty Okoroh as Special Assistant on Administration to the President of the Senate , Mohammed Isa as Special Assistant on Media and Publicity and Olu Onemola as Special Assistant on New Media.
Others are Tope Brown Olowoyeye as Senior Legislative Aide on Media and Publicity ( Photography) and Ogechukwu Nwankwoh as Senior Legislative Aide ( SLA) on Schedules and Events .
