PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Thursday said the efforts of his administration to transform Nigeria’s economy are yielding results with the support of the National Assembly led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas.
Speaking at a colloquium to mark the 61st birthday of the Senate President in Abuja, President Tinubu said the challenges facing the country will be jointly assessed by the executive and legislature with a view to evolving implementable solutions for the good of Nigerians.
“Having Senate President Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Right Honourable Abbas, on my side is enough for me to succeed, and we will succeed,” a statement by Special Adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, quoted the president as saying.
Extolling the leadership credentials of the Senate President, President Tinubu said the Chairman of the National Assembly has always shown commitment to national development, starting out as a commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, where he understudied Lagos; drew up a blueprint and implemented it as a two-term Executive Governor.
“I believe in the person of Sen. Godswill Akpabio. He is truly in God’s will for his life. I was governor in Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, and he was a commissioner.
“As a commissioner, he was extremely inquisitive about what was going on in Lagos. I didn’t know then that he wanted to be a governor. As governor, he transformed Akwa Ibom tremendously,’’ the President stated.
President Tinubu recalled how some of the economic and social programmes initiated by Senator Akpabio, when he was governor, developed the state, noting that the drainage system Senator Akpabio constructed had saved many lives and livelihoods.
In his remarks, the Senate President commended President Tinubu for his visionary leadership, most recently demonstrated in the quality of decisions taken so far to ensure improved security and a revamped economy.
“You are the first President who openly stepped out and said you believed that someone like me would make a difference as Senate President.
“It is not that the National Assembly is an appendage of the executive. President Tinubu is the first to get it right. Mr. President, there’s no country that you have been to that investors did not rush to meet with you,’’ Senator Akpabio said.
The Senate President assured the President that the National Assembly would work with him to transform the country, adding that, “we did not come for a boxing bout. We came to transform Nigeria.”
The Speaker of the House of Representatives thanked the President for articulating his economic vision clearly for the National Assembly, departing from what he described as “impulsive programmes.”
The keynote speaker, Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), appreciated the President for his courage and diligence in leading the nation on the path of growth and recovery with innovative ideas and for appointing competent hands to run the affairs of the country.