.Akpoti-Uduaghan resumes
IGNATIUS OKOROCHA, Abuja
As the Senate resumes plenary on Tuesday after about 10 weeks recess, President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has charged his colleagues on the need to expedite action on the review of the 1999 constitution, be more serious with their oversight function to plug all revenue leakages.
Akpabio in his opening remarks titled “Steady Hands for a great nation” lamented the frightening rate of killings of innocent citizens by bandits and terrorists in different parts of the country while the lawmakers were on recess,urged his colleagues to brace up and join the Executive arm in the tasks of bringing an end to the situation.
“Our people do not look to us for lamentations; they look to us for action. The banners of terrorism and banditry still threaten the countryside.
The cost of living weighs upon the family table like an iron chain. The flickering of our national grid leaves cities in darkness and commerce in paralysis.
“While our hearts grieve, our hopes endure because of glimmers of progress. Nigeria’s oil production has climbed toward 1.8 million barrels per day, driven by reforms and renewed investor confidence.
We must ensure that this blessing does not become another fleeting windfall, but a foundation for fiscal discipline, infrastructure renewal, and job creation.
“Let us also heed the cry from the farms and markets. Over 33 million Nigerians face acute food insecurity — a crisis demanding urgent legislative attention to agriculture, rural roads, irrigation, and mechanization. Hunger cannot be defeated with words; it requires policy, budget, and will.
” These trials summon us to service of uncommon urgency — and to partnership with the Executive Arm, that together we rewrite the story of our nation.
“We must legislate with boldness. We must press forward with reforms to steady our economy, draw investment, broaden the tax base, and nurture growth. We must strike hard at the enemies of ignorance and disease by strengthening education and healthcare.
We must give the youths of Nigeria not only hope but opportunity.”
Continuing he said,”We must revisit the Constitution — to make our federalism stronger, our governance more efficient, and our democracy more inclusive.
Above all, we must wield our power of oversight with vigilance, so that the people’s money is spent for the people’s good.
“Our relations with the Executive shall remain frank and firm — neither obsequious nor obstructive.
Where policies raise our people, we shall lend our strength; where they imperil them, we shall speak on their behalf. We must continue to uphold the independence of this Senate, the dignity of this chamber, and the majesty of the Constitution which governs us all.
“To the citizens of Nigeria, we say this: we hear you. We know your expectations. You ask not for excuses but for results; not for noise but for substance.
This Senate will remain open, accountable, and responsive. We will not shrink from scrutiny — indeed, we welcome it, for accountability is the lifeblood of democracy.
“But it must be clearly understood: the foundation of every democracy is its legislature. Those who seek to weaken the legislature, in truth, seek to wreck the substructure of democracy itself.”
Akpabio further noted,”we stand once more on the threshold of another election season, let us speak plainly to our constituents about the sacred duty of choice.
Leadership is not a carnival, and governance is not a stage for theatrics. Let no one mistake the nation’s destiny for a costume drama, nor confuse applause with achievement.
Whether in party primaries or general elections, let us not lay quality upon the altar of spectacle, nor exchange wisdom for noise, nor experience for glitter.
If our politics must be mended, let it begin with the courage to choose men and women of integrity, of tested virtue, of proven competence, and of sincere devotion to service.
“We must teach our people that democracy will only flourish when ballots are cast, not for the loudest voice, but for the wisest head; not for those who seek office as an ornament, but for those who see it as a burden of duty.”
For a better society
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