Saraki Welcomes Rivers Senators, As Senate Adjourns Till January 10

The three senators elected last Saturday in the Rivers rerun polls have joined their colleagues in the National Assembly.

Inaugurating them, Senate President Bukola Saraki, on Thursday, noted that the new senators emerged from a tough election.

The new lawmakers are the All Progressives Congress candidate, Magnus Abe, who clinched the Rivers South-East senatorial district seat; and two Peoples Democratic Party candidates, George Sekibo (Rivers-East) and Osinakachukwu Ideozu (Rivers-West).

After inaugurating the new senators, Saraki adjourned the plenary to January 10, 2017.

Saraki, in his closing remarks before the adjournment, stated that when the Senate resumes in January, the lawmakers would give priority to the 2017 Appropriation Bill laid before the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday.

He also announced that the Senate passed 64 bills between September when it returned from a break and December.

He said, “I was just looking at the statistics of what we have been able to achieve from the time we came back and we were discussing the economic recession but we did go ahead to agree to address some of our 11 economic bills at this shortest period of time and all these bills have gone through second reading and they have gone for public hearing and they are all about to be laid in the short period of time.

He said, “More importantly, just for this period between September 2016 when we resumed this session and now, we have passed about 64 bills for second reading. Also, between September 9 and now, we have passed 18 bills.

“To give you an idea, between May 2015 and September 2016, we only passed 14 bills. In one and a half years, what we did in these three months surpassed what we have done in a year and a half. And on concurrence with the House of Representatives, we did about 34.

“This is truly very commendable and it wouldn’t have been done without the support of everybody. I hope that after the break that we truly all deserve, we will come back to address the issue of budget and see how we can fast-track and do it at the earliest possible time.”

The Senate President, while congratulating Abe, Sekibo, and Ideozu,  pointed out that their election was fast-tracked by a motion compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct the rerun within a specified period.

“On a final note, let me join others in congratulating the three new senators who are joining us. Why it is more cheerful to see this is that it is the motion that we passed here that made sure that this election came and came so quick. On the men who have joined us today, you will say they have just come from a tough election.

“The Senate is hereby adjourned to January 10, 2017,” Saraki said.