…ask him to Making tough decisions to save Nigerians
As part of it commitment to the issues of insecurity in the country, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, at the House resumption on Tuesday asked President Bola Tinubu to take tough decisions that will free Nigeria from the terror of insecurity, even as he told the President that the time has come for him demand greater performance and accountability from service chiefs –
Abba who disclosed this while reading his resumption speech at the plenary after the Christmas and New Year break yesterday, said though the president has exhibited exemplary leadership and a proactive approach to security matters, but the time has come for the President to demand greater performance and accountability from the service chiefs and all security and enforcement agencies.
He said “His recent interventions and directives for more action by security agencies are timely and reflective of his deep-seated resolve to restore peace and order. Indeed, the time has come for the President to demand greater performance and accountability from our service chiefs and all security and enforcement agencies.
“I implore the President not to shy away from making the tough decisions. If necessary, we must not hesitate to enact changes within our security apparatus, for the cost of inaction is far too great to bear”, Abass stated.
While commending security agencies for their heroism and sacrifice, the speaker said “time has come for you to review your approaches and strategies, innovate and adapt.”
He described the President’s economic policies, aimed at revitalising key sectors, promoting sustainable growth, and fostering inclusive development as steps in the right direction.
He said the legislative arm must align with the executive to ensure that these initiatives are effectively implemented and yield tangible results for every Nigerian.
The speaker stated:” The expeditious consideration and passage of this budget speaks to our collective resolve to address our nation’s pressing economic challenges. We must shift our focus towards ensuring the judicious and meticulous implementation of the budget, which is intended to be catalytic in lifting our economy from its current state of stagnation.
“Every Committee is tasked with engaging the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to oversee the effective execution of the budgetary allocations and ensure that every Naira allocated in the budget is utilised efficiently and transparently. Our goal is to provide our people with much-needed relief from the current harsh economic realities.
“The recent move by the President to track and review the annual performance of federal ministries, departments and agencies is indeed commendable and should be supported by all Nigerians. The lack of a proper performance assessment framework is a significant shortfall in government and public sector systems and processes.
“This has often resulted in insufficient alignment of organisational strategic priorities and budgets with national priorities as contained in the 8-point Agenda of Mr. President. We hope that the result of the government-wide performance report will be tabled before the National Assembly to provide lawmakers and the people of Nigeria an insight into the performance of government officials. Those whose performance falls below the minimum benchmark set by the President should be immediately replaced by more competent substitutes.
“I wish also to note and commend the President’s firm stance on public sector corruption. This steadfast commitment to uprooting the malaise of corruption from our public institutions is not just about preserving resources but is fundamentally about restoring the sanctity of governance and public service.
Abbas also disclosed the legislative priorities of the 10th house of representatives for 2024.
These priorities, according to the speaker, include speedy consideration of electoral reforms, alteration of the 1999 Constitution, improved citizens’ engagement, enhanced oversight, institutional capacity strengthening, and greater collaboration with the executive.
He, however said of immediate concern to the house are electoral reforms to address grey areas in the 2022 Electoral Act, noting that the purpose is to ensure that future elections are free, fair, and credible elections that truly reflect the people’s will.
“Recent data shows that 75 per cent of gubernatorial elections conducted by INEC in 2023 ended up in the Supreme Court. A significantly higher percentage of gubernatorial, State, and National Assembly elections was litigated to the appellate level.
“Like all Nigerians, we are worried about the varying and conflicting judicial pronouncements which can disrupt our democratic process if not properly and swiftly addressed. For this reason, the House will constitute a special technical committee with Members drawn from the Committee on Electoral Matters, experts, academics and other stakeholders.
“The mandate of the Committee will be to review the Electoral Act 2022 and submit a proposal to the House on areas for amendment. The report of the Committee will be subjected to a public hearing to aggregate concrete suggestions for amendment.”
