By Amaka Orji
Senate President Ahmad Lawan, says the 9th National Assembly has performed creditably well in terms of delivering democracy dividends to Nigerians, since its inauguration in 2019.
Lawan said this in his goodwill message to the Nigerian workers in Abuja.
“By 2019 when the 9th Assembly was inaugurated, the nation’s financial year or budget cycle had become notorious for being unreliable and uncertain.
“To redress that situation, the Assembly in collaboration with the executive arm of government, promptly reset the financial year to run from January to December.
“Since then, this been has sustained, resulting in significant improvement in budget performance,” he said.
Lawan said the 9th assembly had successfully passed many critical bills that had become jinxed under previous assembly.
He listed such critical legislations that were key to good governance and service delivery in public sector to include the deep off-shore and inland basin production sharing contracts (amendment) act, 2019.
Others were the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020; Police Act 2020, Petroleum Industry Act 2021; Electoral Act 2022.
He said that the assembly also passed 16 of the Constitutional amendment bills for the fifth alterations of the 1999 Constitution, which President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law.
The Senate President lauded Nigerian workers for their patriotism and resilience as they marked the 2023 Workers’ Day.
Lawan said that the workers had contributed in finding solutions to the nation’s challenges and supported the efforts of government targeted at meeting the yearnings of the people.
He stated that throughout the nation’s history, the great Nigerian workers had been remarkable for their patriotism, commitment to nation-building and resilience in the face of serious development challenges.
Lawan said that the consistent patriotic stance of the Nigerian workers had enhanced peace and industrial harmony, provided conducive environment for economic growth and development.
The dictum that labour creates wealth remains valid today as it has ever been, government must always pay serious attention to labour related matters,
“It is with such understanding that the 9th National Assembly has guarded itself against the introduction of any anti-labour legislation since its inception in 2019.
“I’m happy that the stance has helped in sustaining industrial peace in the country,” he said.
He urged the labour movement to continue to sustain the atmosphere of industrial peace and harmony under the incoming administration of President-elect Bola Tinubu.