President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmed Lawan, has declared that the National Assembly will challenge the Executive arm of government in a decent but decisive manner.
Lawan made the declaration while reacting to insinuations that the National Assembly would be a rubber stamp of the Executive under his leadership.
He said his leadership would encourage a relationship that would promote mutual respect, collaboration and partnership in order to move the country forward, it would still challenge the Executive when necessary.
He spoke, according to his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mohammed Isa, on Friday in Abuja when addressing a group, Women Parliamentarians.
The group was led by Senator Joy Emordi.
His words: “During my campaign, I was called a potential rubber stamp Senate President to the executive; maybe because I am close to the President, or because I believe in his cause.
“There is no time that I will ever be a rubber stamp. Yes, I believe in President Buhari as a person and I believe in my party, the APC, but I believe that our problems as Nigerians are Nigerian problems.
“They are neither APC nor PDP problems, they are Nigerian problems, that require Nigerian solution. So, we have to work together.
“We will be there for the executive arm of government all the time in moving this country forward.
“We are going to challenge the executive in a manner that is decent but decisive.
“As a Minister, you have to do your ministerial job well. We will make government appointees to do what is required of them.
“We have to deal with the issues confronting us. It is not going to be easy, but we have to build a relationship that have mutual respect, collaboration and partnership. It is achievable.
“We are not here for self-serving. We came here with a lot of experiences to impact positively in our country. We are here and we will remain focused to make this government work.”
Speaking on the need for women to participate in politics, he said the onus was on them to explore the opportunities available.
Said he: “The political space in the country is wide enough to accommodate our women, but the ball is in their court to take the advantages.”
The leader of the group, Emordi, urged the new leadership of the National Assembly to improve the situation in the country for the benefit of the people in general.
She said apart from encouraging good relationship between the Executive and Legislative arms of government, the group was interested in encouraging the participation of women in politics.
