Nigerians Keep Misunderstanding The Legislature – Ahmad Lawan

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan has come out to say that the legislature is the most misunderstood arm of government in Nigeria.

He revealed this while speaking on “International Day of Parliamentarism”, sponsored by Sen. Ifeanyi Ubah (YPP-Anambra South).

According to him, Nigerians have to be educated on the functions and roles of the parliament and the National Assembly will keep letting citizens know what they stand for.

He added that democracy is largely defined by the presence of parliament, so he and the other senators cannot fail with their duties.

His words, “Here in Nigeria, like indeed anywhere else, democracy is largely defined by the presence of parliament, and parliamentarians are expected to undertake those three fundamental pillars of their mandate, that is representation, oversight and ensuring that we always legislate on good governance.

“It is important to mention and emphasise that this National Assembly will continue to undertake its oversight functions on the Executive arm of Government.

“Where we have issues, we should advice how those issues will be properly addressed because we want to see optimal performance in our government.

“Where we have to provide legislative interventions as quickly as possible, we should do so, because the purpose of any legislation is to improve on a situation.

“We should continue to do that, and in the process of oversight, we must be mindful of the fact that this one fundamental function of the legislature that we cannot afford to take very lightly.

“This is to ensure that if we approve any funds, especially the annual budget and indeed any supplementary budget, we must follow through.

“We must track how expenditures are made, and the efficiency and prudence with which the projects are achieved.

“We have a challenge, we need to continue to educate and enlighten our citizens to know exactly what our functions are. The legislature is, without any argument, the most misunderstood arm of government that people vote for.

“It is our responsibility as a parliament to continue to enlighten the people that we represent on what is expected of us.”