AGF Malami, Senate president Lawan, Gbajabiamila meet at National Assembly
- Attorney-general of Nigeria, Abubakar Malami, wants easy passage of executive bills by the National Assembly
- Malami recalls the frustration suffered by the executive arm of government during the eighth National Assembly
- Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, emphasises mutual trust and respect for the two arms of government
Abubakar Malami, Nigeria's attorney-general and justice minister, met with the Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, and Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila of the House of Representatives on Thursday asking for a working relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government.
Malami said such working relationship is geared towards seamless passage of bills throughout the next four years.
A statement issued by Ezrel Tabiowo, spokesperson of the Senate president, to Legit.ng stated that Malami met the duo and other principal officers for one hour at the National Assembly.
He said he decided to hold the meeting because of the frustration the executive suffered during the eighth National Assembly where several bills were proposed but never passed or assented to.
Source: UGC
“Enormous resources, energy and cost have gone into legislative process of lawmaking and I feel the time is now right for us to work together for the purpose of eliminating the associated bottlenecks that have constituted hindrances to the passage of the bills and assenting thereto," he said.
“We cannot afford to expend resources, time and energy in formulating and drafting bills that will eventually not be passed or assented,” Malami added..
The minister suggested that an advance legislative proposals can be forwarded for possible review and inputs of the lawmakers even before the final consideration of the draft bill by the executive.
Responding, Lawan commended the executive for deciding to reach out to the National Assembly adding that the two arms of government currently enjoy a cordial relationship which should be sustained through mutual respect and consultations.
“Our relationship should be based on mutual respect and consultation. This is a clear demonstration of the kind of consultation we have been talking about.
Source: UGC
“We shouldn’t work at cross purposes; and beyond bills, we need to extend the consultation to other spheres of engagements for us to achieve optimal performance,” Lawan said.
The meeting agreed that for easy passage of bills, committees should be set up on both the legislative and the executive sides for proper engagements.
“This relationship is productive so far, it is working and helping this country and we will continue with it. However, that is not to say that we will compromise on things that are our mandate,” Lawan said.
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Legit.ng earlier reported that Lawan recently accused some ministries and agencies of overpricing projects.
The Senate president made this allegation on Wednesday, October 23, during the hearing of the 2020 budget proposal.
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Source: Legit.ng
