By Olayemi Esan
Nigerians and Muslim faithful have been urged to be steadfast in working and praying for the peace, unity and progress of the country, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan has said in his message rejoicing with Nigerians and Muslims Ummah, on the occasion of this year’s Eid-el-Kabir festival.
Lawan, in a statement personally signed, made the call in a Sallah message on Monday in Abuja and advised all Nigerians to celebrate by sharing the blessings with neighbours and show love and kindness to all, as taught by Holy Prophet Mohammed (SAW).
"Every true Muslim is always grateful to Allah the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful for the privilege to celebrate Sallah, regardless of our circumstances. The current challenges are painful but this is a passing phase in our historical process of nation-building.
"The Government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari is determined that we get the challenges behind us and steady our nation's march to its manifest destiny of greatness," he said.
The Senate President pledged that the Ninth Senate and entire National Assembly will continue to facilitate the legislative environment needed for the success of all the efforts at the public and private sectors targeted at the security, peace and prosperity of Nigeria.
He restated the Senate’s commitment to the Legislative Agenda as set out shortly after the inauguration of the Assembly in 2019.
"I am proud that we have kept faith with our promises, as contained in that Agenda, to the Nigerian People as their Parliament. The promises kept include passing the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) that had lingered for close to two decades. We finally broke that jinx," he stated.
He added that the Senate also passed the Electoral Act 2010 Amendment Bill to further strengthen and enhance the integrity of our electoral processes.
"We believe the two critical pieces of legislation will positively impact our economy and democracy. Even before we passed the Electoral Act 2020 Amendment Bill, we had passed the Electoral Offences Commission Bill to check these offences.
“Also worth mentioning is the hard work our Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution is doing to get its report ready for consideration as soon as we resume our current summer vacation. We hope to consider the report this year before considering the 2022 Appropriation Bill and transmit the outcome to the state Houses of Assembly for their consideration.
"We are confident that the new Constitution that will emerge from this exercise will substantially address all the areas of genuine concerns to patriotic Nigerians.
"We are also committed to nurturing the tradition that we started of timely consideration of the budget by ensuring that the 2022 Appropriation Bill is passed by December so that the budget will continue to be implemented within the January to December cycle. This however requires the cooperation of the Executive in presenting the estimates to the National Assembly on time,” Lawan promised.
He explained that the Senate has received the proposals on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Plan (MTEF/FSP 2022-2024) which provides the basis for the 2022 Budget estimates and pledged that the document would be accorded expeditious consideration when the Senate reconvenes after recess.
Lawan urged Nigerians to continue adhering to the COVID-19 protocols so as to protect the society at large against the virus.
"We have been alerted by the health authorities that the Delta variant of the virus has surfaced in Nigeria. It requires strict adherence to the protocols already outlined by the health authorities to prevent the spread. Therefore, let us not lower our guards", he stated.
