Senator Ahmed Lawan, a leading contender for the position of Senate President in the coming 9th National Assembly, has said the caucus of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators-elect with whom he has an understanding has endorsed his candidacy.
Sen. Lawan, who fielded questions from journalists at the weekend in Abuja, said the open support of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi (PDP, Delta North) was not an indication of any crack in the PDP ahead of the inauguration of the 9th Senate and election of Presiding Officers on June 11.
“We are expecting PDP senators-elect to, all of them, have an understanding with us and endorse me as a caucus,” Lawan said.
He said the endorsement of Sen. Nwaoboshi meant a feeling of patriotism and the necessity of the 9th Senate to work together in unity in order to improve the life of Nigerians.
He thanked him for taking the lead and expressed hope to have more engagements between the PDP caucus and his campaign team.
The lawmaker representing Yobe North also hailed Sen. Ifeanyi Uba of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) for identifying with his campaign from the first day.
“What Nigerians care for is what the Ninth Senate is able to do to better their life and how the economy will be improved upon.
“This administration has done a lot in the last four years. But we are still faced with the challenge of diversifying the economy. That is what Nigerians expect National Assembly to do. Our vehicle should convey everybody. We have our belief. But that belief should be anchored on how to make legislative interventions that will make this country better.
“What he (Sen. Nwaoboshi) did was to say that we should break the barrier. Why should we keep the barrier? We should break the barrier and work on how those interventions will work.
“I believe PDP senators-elect will endorse this candidacy. There are many PDP senators-elect who have identified with our vision. What we all agree is that we need to achieve unity as a chamber. When I say unity, political parties are there, but we have to work together. I want to work with each and every senator.
“All senators-elect are people of diverse legislative experiences. Their experiences will shape the achievements of the ninth senate. We have learnt that bickering among political parties does not help anybody at the end of the day. So, I believe we have to achieve that.”
He expressed his determination to lead a focused and purposeful Senate whose relationship with the Executive arm of government would be based on mutual respect, partnership and synergy.
“The most important function of the legislature is oversight. The legislature will watch whether the implementation is in line with the laws to ensure prudence, economy, and efficiency in the delivery.
“We will ensure that we have cordial relationship that will enable us pass bills in national interest. The relationship does not mean that we won’t disagree. But we won’t allow it to degenerate to rancorous disagreement.
“National interest should be the driving force for all of us. So, we have to pass required laws and insist on implementation. When you disagree, you have to find a solution. That solution does not mean throwing stones to ensure we have decent cordial working relationship,” Lawan added.
