Senator Ahmed Lawan, vying for the leadership of the Senate, says if elected, he will pursue the merger of government agencies and other means of cutting cost of governance in Nigeria.
The member of the All Progressives Congress and one of the leading contestants for the position of the Senate President made the promise on Tuesday in an interview on Channels Television.
Outlining some of the issues he would focus on if elected, Senator Lawan, who is from Nigeria’s north-east, said his emergence would give the north-east region a sense of belonging after years on insurgency.
“I will work to ensure we improve the source of revenue, merge agencies of government to cut down cost of governance. We need to work on reducing the percentage of the recurrent expenditure in the budget,” the Senator stressed.
He highlighted that his 16 years of experience in the National Assembly had given him the needed knowledge about the workings of the assembly.
“I have learnt a lot in the National Assembly. This is my third election into the Senate. I have been in the National Assembly since 1999.
“I have been active either in plenary or in the committee. I have been the chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Education. I have watched presiding officers in the Senate and in the House of Representatives.
“I have what it takes and I have been in a position of leadership before I came to the National Assembly.
“We have paid our dues as a state and as a zone. Insecurity is what distinguishes the north-east from other parts of Nigeria and we have suffered so much ravage, destruction and have lost a lot to it.
“Giving us an opportunity to serve at this highest level of governance is like symbolically welcoming the north-east back to Nigeria,” he said.
Senator Lawan also expressed optimism that he would ensure a better synergy between the Senate and the House of Representatives, if elected.
Budget Implementation
“I am sure we need to change the way we carry out our oversight function. We can take out a week to carry out oversight function to keep in tune with the implementation of the budged to make sure that whatever was appropriated is what is given out to Nigerians. We need to make sure that monies meant for public good are not syphoned by individuals for their own good.
“The House of Representatives and the Senate must work more cordial to ensure that they perform their oversight function better,” Senator Lawan stated.
He also pointed out that he had not gotten any endorsement by any leader of the party, but that he had been endorsed by some states in the north.