The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, has felicitated with all Nigerians as they celebrate the New Year, wishing them joy and prosperity in 2021.
Lawan, in a press statement signed by him on Thursday, thanked Nigerians for their understanding and support for the ninth Assembly in the year 2020. Lawan also thanked God that the impact of the global health emergency and economic recession on Nigeria is not as catastrophic as was predicted by experts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The statement read in part, “I felicitate with all Nigerians in this festive season and wish them joy and prosperity in 2021. The year 2020 was full of challenges on the economic, security, health and other fronts for most nations of the world. Thankfully, however, the challenges couldn’t dampen our hope for a better future for us as individuals and as a nation.
As a Legislature, we had prepared ahead for the vagaries that’ll for long be associated with 2020 by making the necessary legislation for the facilitation of good governance and economic growth. The outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the shutdown of the economy that it enforced adversely affected every country in the world as it did our own economic projections and preparations.
Despite this situation, we can thank God that the impact of the global health emergency and economic recession on Nigeria isn’t as catastrophic as was predicted by experts. I believe that this wasn’t out of luck but because we didn’t delay in appropriately fine-tuning and adjusting our plans in the light of the developments. We, therefore, need to prepare better than before for the New Year 2021 and the years ahead.
We’ve also passed a series of enactments proposed by the Executive as Finance Bills to support smooth implementation of the 2021 budget.
More importantly, some critical legislation that we couldn’t enact in 2020 as a result of the unusual development which I’ve mentioned are now on the priority list of the Legislative Agenda of the National Assembly for 2021. Topmost on the priority list are the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which we need to boost activities in our oil and gas sector. We are determined to pass the Electoral Reforms Bill before the second quarter of 2021.
We’ll give accelerated consideration to any measures proposed towards the containment of the COVID-19. The issue of security in the country has always been top on our agenda, and it’ll continue to be of utmost priority in 2021. Our hope to do all these and accomplish much more in the new year lies in the unity of purpose of the ninth National Assembly.
I thank all Nigerians for their understanding and support for the ninth Assembly.
We promise in the new year to continue to put in our best for good governance and for the betterment of the lives of our people.
