NASS REPUBLIC: Persuading Nigerians on 2023 elections. Two other stories, and a quote to remember

The President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, last week, encouraged Nigerians to participate actively in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.

We selected two other stories from the National Assembly (NASS) within the week in review.

1.Persuading Nigerians on 2023 polls

On December 31, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, charged Nigerians to seize the opportunities provided to take active part in the ongoing electoral process.

“The ninth National Assembly will keep providing the necessary legislative interventions for good governance till the end of its tenure in June 2023. I urge all of us Nigerians to take active part in the electoral process, towards achieving our collective goal of good governance for national prosperity and unity,” he stated in his New Year message to Nigerians.

Lawan’s piece of advice is a timely reminder inviting all citizens to take the country’s leadership recruitment process very seriously.

Furthermore, it deepens the argument around the office of the citizen as the highest in land, a fact concretized in the inalienable right of Nigerians to cause a change in leadership by voting out bad administrators.

NASS MEMORY LANE

Who said;
“I’m deeply pained and grieved by the recent spate of wanton killings and destruction of properties by suspected herders (Fulani militia) in my constituency, this ugly and barbaric killings of innocent, peace-loving and law-abiding citizens is unfortunate, condemnable, censure and of grave concern.”

Answer: See end of post

Two other stories

2.Nnamani’s vowed support for Tinubu

On December 26, the Senator representing Enugu East Senatorial District, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, reaffirmed his support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the forthcoming presidential election.

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Nnamani had noted that his choice was not for personal reasons, but for mainstreaming the South-East into Nigeria’s politics.

Nnamani’s disposition – despite being a PDP chieftain – continues to demonstrate that politics is an interest-driven game, defined essentially by what the protagonists will get for themselves, rather than the larger good.

It, therefore, begs the issue when Nnamani seeks to hoodwink the larger populace into believing that his romance with Tinubu is about mainstreaming the South-East into Nigerian politics.

The fact is that citizens have gotten wiser with the dour performance and antics of the average Nigerian politician.

3.Extending deadline on old Naira notes

The Senate, on December 28, appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the deadline for the withdrawal of old Naira notes to June 30, 2023.

The Senate resolution followed a point of order raised by former Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, during the plenary in Abuja.

“The withdrawal of old notes from circulation if not extended beyond January 31, 2023, many Nigerians will be thrown into hardship and to avoid the repeat of 1984 experience withdrawal,” the Senator said.

The Senate resolution widens the debate on the propriety of the apex bank’s initiative which many have come to regard as a smart move against politicians who may have stockpiled money with a view to bribing electorates.

The intrigue is further heightened by alleged plans of Nigeria’s secret police to arrest the governor of the central bank for some yet unspecified reason.

The resolution, coming from a house majorly dominated by the ruling All Progressives Congress, therefore, weaves a conspiracy theory around the hunt for Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor.

It would be interesting to see who blinks first between the CBN and Nigerian lawmakers.

Answer:Solomon Maren
who represents Mangu/Bokkos Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, made the statement on November 18, 2022.

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