ABUJA – Senate President Bukola Saraki has declared that the ongoing fuel scarcity in the country is man-made and vowed that those responsible must pay the price for visiting needless hardship on Nigerians.
In his welcome address yesterday, from three weeks recess and to mark the beginning of another legislative year, the Senate President regretted that “many were on the queue for petrol”.
“We have all been witnesses to the hardships which many Nigerians saw in the New-Year (2018); fuel queues tailing from petrol stations in many of our cities.
My own estimation of the fuel scarcity phenomenon is that it is man-made; we thought we had left the problem of fuel queues firmly in the past in this country, but sadly, that appears not to be the case,” he regretted.
He noted that the situation was so bad that members of the Senate Investigative Panel on Fuel Scarcity had to cut short their recess and commenced public hearing on the crisis.
“We seek the cooperation and understanding of Nigerians as we try to get to the bottom of this issue; in any event, there is a problem and it must be solved.
We await the findings of the Investigative Panel on Fuel Scarcity, we are firm in our resolve, that whoever is responsible must pay the price for visiting this needless hardship upon our people”, he added.
The Senate President further announced that the 8th Senate has passed 140 bills over a period of 30 months.
“The landmark Economic Bills we passed helped to propel the country’s emergence from recession, powering us upwards in the Ease of Doing Business Report.
While the legislative feats of the year gone by shall go down in the annals of lawmaking in this country, what is also true is that we cannot lose momentum, nor can we afford to rest on our oars”, stressed.
To this end, he urged the lawmakers not allowing preparations towards the 2019 general elections to overshadow their responsibility.
“As you all know, this, in all probability, will be the last productive year before we go into the 2019 electioneering period.
This is my appeal: It is too early for 2019 politicking to override the legislative agenda and the larger work of governance.
We have begun a good thing with the recovery of the economy as the core of our agenda; let us see it to its proper conclusion.
It would be most insensitive to the needs of the people of this country if we were to do otherwise.
I am directing this appeal not only to us in the chamber but to the National Assembly as a whole, as well as to the Executive and indeed all political actors,” he said.
It is therefore imperative that we speed up consideration on the various bills on which legislative work remains outstanding – particularly economic bills.
Calling for similar attention are the other parts of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) related bills still to be passed, namely: the Petroleum Industry Fiscal Bill and the Petroleum Host Community Bill.
The Senate President also noted that the lawmakers would not relent in their efforts to conclude work on the ongoing Constitution Amendment process and the 2018 Budget.
He assured that the Senate would sustain its good relations and collaboration with the House of Representatives to ensure that all Bills awaiting concurrence are passed early enough and presented to the President for his assent.
“To this end, I urge you all to reach out to our counterparts in the House, so that we can fulfil the lawmaking function in the most expeditious manner.
This will help streamline the process – and clear the way for the passing of various legislations – making for improved synergy and joined-up working between the two chambers,” he added.
