I Am Not Rubber Stamp Senate President – Lawan

Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has described insinuations that he would be a rubber stamp to the executive arm of government as sentimental and laughable.

Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Senate President, Mohammed Isa, said that Lawan spoke when he received a group, “Women Parliamentarians,” led by Senator Joy Emordi in Abuja.

Lawan was quoted to have said that believing in President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and his personality should not be misconstrued to mean that he is not independent minded.

He noted that during his campaign for the office of the Senate President, “I was called a potential rubber stamp Senate President to the executive.
He said that the tag of being a potential rubber stamp Senate President may have been borne out of his closeness to President Buhari or because he believed in President Buhari’s cause.

Lawan said: “There is no time I will ever be a rubber stamp. Yes, I believe in President Buhari as a person and I believe in my party, the APC, but I believe that our problems as Nigerians are Nigerian problems.

“They are neither APC nor PDP problems, they are Nigerian problems that required Nigerian solution. So, we have to work together.

“We will be there for the executive arm of government all the time in moving this country forward.

“We are going to challenge the executive in a manner that is decent but decisive. As a minister, you have to do your ministerial job well. We will make government appointees do what is required of them.

“We have to deal with the issues confronting us. It is not going to be easy, but we have to build a relationship that has mutual respect, collaboration and partnership. It is achievable.

“We are not here for self-serving. We came here with a lot of experience to impact positively in our country. We are here and we will remain focused to make this government work.”

The statement said that the Lawan seized the occasion to charge women to be more involved in politics.

He said, “the political space in the country is wide enough to accommodate our women, but the ball is in their court to take the advantages”.

Senator Emordi was said to have congratulated the presiding officers and the leadership of the 9th Senate for what she described as smooth transition.

She also urged them to use their expertise to improve the condition of Nigerians.

It quoted Emordi to have said that the group was formed to give support where necessary to serving women in the parliament.

“It is our objective to promote cordial relationship between the executive and legislature and remove the boundaries on women participation in politics for good governance,” Emordi said.