By Naomi Sharang
Abuja – President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan says the National Assembly will begin debate on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and Electoral Reforms Amendment Bill and Amendment of the 1999 Constitution.
He stated this at an interactive journalists in Abuja on the achievements of the Senate within the past six months.
Lawan, who is also the Chairman, National Assembly, said that the Senate had been very active since its inauguration in June and would accord priority to some bills including the PIB.
“Some of the bills that will be accorded priority when we return from the Christmas and New Year break in January are the Petroleum Industry Bill, Electoral Reforms Amendment Bill and Amendment of the 1999 Constitution.”
The president of the Senate said that the PIB was first introduced in the National Assembly in 2007 but had yet to be passed in its entirety.
He said that the National Assembly would, this time around, adopt a different approach to make the passage of the PIB a reality.
The president of the Senate also said that the Electoral Reforms Amendment Bill was a priority because of the urgent need to improve the electoral processes and secure the democratic gains made in the Fourth Republic.
“We want to pass the Bill well ahead of the next electoral cycle in 2023 and avoid the political heat and pitfalls that imperiled the efforts of the 8th National Assembly to pass the same bill close to the last general elections.
“We are not oblivious of the interest and concerns some of these bills have generated from the public.
“On behalf of my colleagues, I pledge that we, as elected representatives of the people, will always ensure that the will of our people is pivotal in our legislative business.
“This Senate and indeed the 9th National Assembly will not pass any bill that is not in the national interest.
“Our primary responsibility is lawmaking. In this respect, the 9th Senate has been up and doing and its record compares favourably to any other before it in the history of our nation.
“Within the first six months of its inauguration, the Senate has passed six Bills into law, four of them members’ bills.
“They include the Deep Off-shore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act, the Public Procurement Act 2007 (Amendment) Bills, 2019.
“The Deep Off-shore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Bill has since been passed into an Act and was promptly assented into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on Nov. 4.”
Lawan explained that the passage and signing of the law demonstrated what the executive and the legislature institutions could achieve when they were guided in their actions by patriotism.
“This law will significantly increase accruals to the government from crude oil contracts,” he said.
Furthermore, Lawan noted that the two executive bills that were passed were the Appropriation Bill, 2020 and the Finance Bill 2019.
“We passed the Finance Bill, 2019 on Nov. 21. The Bill amended seven existing tax and fiscal policy laws (Companies Income Tax Act, 2004; Value Added Tax Act, 2007 among others.
“The Federal Government took the initiative to reform the tax system so as to create an enabling business environment and reduce the tax burden for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
“We also promptly passed the Appropriation Bill in line with our commitment to changing the current unhealthy and unpredictable budget cycle to a January to Decembet fiscal calendar,” he said.
He said that the structural change and the prompt passage of the Appropriation Bill would give the government a full year to implement the budget.
“We believe this measure will enhance planning, implementation and monitoring of the budget by the relevant organs and agencies and significantly improve our annual budget performance.
While describing the media as a national treasure, Lawal said that the fourth estate of the realm had maintained its position at the forefront of the struggles of democracy.
Earlier, Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Eyinnaya Abaribe said that the members of the senate had always tried to see things from a different perspective which was the beauty of democracy.
He maintained that the Senate remained united in spite of disagreements on some national issues.
Abaribe insisted that disagreement was unavoidable due to political, ideological and cultural differences, noting that after disagreement, there was always a point of convergence of views in national interest.
“It is a privilege asking me as a minority leader to do the introduction of events which was organised by the majority.
“This shows how closely we are working together.
“What we want is that at the end, let Nigeria be better for all of us, he said.
(NAN)
