“On behalf of my Deputy Senator Jibrin Barau we appreciate you Distinguished colleagues. We are very happy for his great opportunity. We thank God for the opportunity to serve and congratulate all of you for being sworn as Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We thank God for being able to wade through the very difficult election that we passed through.
“I will say that this is the first cashless election that we have witnessed, the 2023 general elections. In some states we had tsunamis. In some we had some of our colleagues returning. About 30 Senators returned and those coming into the Senate for the first time are about 79.
“Let me also thank the clerk of the National Assembly, the clerk of the Senate and all the staff of the Senate and the National Assembly for their dedication to duty and commitment to the Nigeria federation.
“I will work with you, for you and beside you. I will be a Senate President that will stand for all, including Senator Yari. I want to extend my hand of fellowship to you and that we are going to work very closely together. I want to say that every Senator here voted for me and what has happened today is historic.
“This is the first time in the Nigeria Senate that you will have eight political parties seated in one chamber. What it means is that after this inauguration you will all become Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and no more of your political parties, and I will treat you so.
“I am humbled to be so honoured by my colleagues and extremely delighted. The country is at a cross road and we are grappling with a lot of difficulties. We just inherited an economy that requires renewal, revitalisation. I want to thank our dear President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for the step that they have taken so far which has given a lot of hope to the entire Nigerian and the West African sub region.
“I want to assure Mr. President that no matter what name a Senate is called, we are here to do national duties. This Senate is about Nigeria and Nigerians. As long as the policies that come to this chamber contain the empowerment and lifting of Nigeria, we shall deliberate and have robust public hearings on them.
“We will work closely with the Executive arm of government, while we maintain the independence of the legislature. I want to thank Mr. President for choosing me to lead the Senate. I want to thank Senator Jibrin Barau and the party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the zoning system that brought all of us.
“I especially thank my brothers and my sisters in the 10th Senate for voting for us across party lines. This is the way we continue to be together. Whatever will happen here, we will think of Nigeria. I will make a very big difference. I assure you that my reputation precedes me. My track record is there for all to see.
“We will bring our uncommon changes in the 10th Senate. Today is not a speech making day but a day for all of us to thank God. My duty is to pray for you. As you honoured me and honoured my brother, Jibrin, my God will continue to honour you. My God will be there for you and your families.
“I pray that none of us will be the next item on the 10th Senate. I always feel bad whenever we come for sittings and they say that we have to adjourn and then we will be asked to stand for a minute of silence and then they will say, “clerk next item” May you never be a next item and may your families never see tragedies.
“I want to assure you of the enormous responsibilities facing us that we shall tackle them headlong. We will look into the existing laws and work closely with the House of Representatives to realign them to ensure that they suit the purpose and they suit the current realities of the artificial intelligence that the world is facing today.
“We will try our best to make laws that will encourage foreign direct investments in the country. The current administration has brought back the acronym of renewed hope and I think that this Senate will join in ensuring a total renewal of hope for Nigerians where there seems to have been no hope.
“I have an opportunity of serving as a Governor and I warned my people who worked with me that I didn’t steal to invest in politically motivated infrastructure. Therefore we shall carry out very serious oversight functions to ensure the protection of the resources of the country.
“We will put members of the executive on their toes, especially the Ministers when they are ready to work. We will follow project by project and ensure that there is no delay.
“I want to commend the 9th Senate because we had a difficult time when we used to have delays in budgets for almost seven months. The 9th Senate did so well to bring Nigeria back to the era of January to December budget system. I think the 10th Senate will maintain that tradition. It will enable us to plan well for the country.
“We urge the executive to assist us to make sure that the budget is sent on time. We urge the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS) to help us to defend the budgets. They have to suspend foreign trips and help us maintain that tradition.
“I want to pay tribute to my predecessor, Distinguished Senator Ahmed Lawan for the achievements, the number of laws passed are unprecedented. The numerous projects seen around the country that have been completed, unlike in the 8th Senate when we had budgetary approvals and they will say no cash backing. So, we had a lot of abandoned projects. I do hope that this current administration will also work closely with us to give us 98 to 100 percent releases and not just approvals without cash backups.
“We will work closely with the executive in that direction for the benefit of the constituents. The 10th Senate has discovered our mission, which is the mission to renew hope in Nigeria. Mission to revitalise the Nigerian economy, working closely with the executive.
“We will not betray the people of Nigeria. Government is a continuum and the Senate is no less. We will strengthen the legislative space in continuation of the laudable efforts made by the 9th Senate.
“The issues that will confront us will be gender matters. We don’t have a lot of women in the Senate. We need to have more women in the Senate. We shall pay important attention to people living with disabilities and the vulnerable in our society.
“We will ensure legislative actions that will empower our youths and stop them from being recruited into banditry, unknown gun Men, Boko Haram and others.
“We will pay attention to insecurity. We will work closely with the executive to ensure that we can sleep with our two eyes closed, and we can also travel by rail, road to any part of the country without fear.
“We will expand the legislature to improve the revenue stream in the country. Our current President has a track record in that respect when he became the Governor of Lagos State in 1999, the state was not getting up to N600 million from Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) but today with the programmes that he has put in place Lagos is getting between N60 to N61 billion every month in terms of IGR. Nigeria can do so to improve the revenue of this country so we can tackle most of the debts we have.
“The President has already said that Nigeria must produce what it consumes and consume what it produces. We will assist him to ensure that the dream becomes a reality for the prosperity of this great nation. We shall have a serious forward looking Senate that will emphasize economic viability, social acceptability, handle environmental issues and bring about sustainable growth.
“We must rise as a body to partner with the government of President Bola Tinubu to provide the required legislative framework and legal environment for him to anchor the policies and programmes that he has for the country.
“Elections are over and governance has started and for the 10th Senate, we’ll hit the ground running and we’ll make sure that our conscience is part of us every step on the way.
“There is every reason for us irrespective of our political parties to support good policies and programmes of the federal government and also look at what the states are doing because if the states are not doing well there is no amount of work by the federal level that will have meaning.
“To the Nigeria people, I’ll say, your dreams and aspirations, and wellbeing will be at the heart of everything that we do in his chamber. I urge you to continue to pray for us and remain faithful. We will be united as Nigerians to make sure that your welfare is not taken for granted, particularly the mandate that you have given to us is not abused in any way.
“I want to commend the President for the bold step that he has taken in the issue of subsidy. If it requires legislative backing we shall give it. We must begin to produce our own fuel in Nigeria. We must encourage the production of diesel and others in this country.
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