Jumbo pay: Lawmakers ‘re unjustly vilified- Ayogu Aze

Vanguard

19 May 2011

Jumbo pay: Lawmakers ‘re unjustly vilified- Ayogu Aze

SPOKESMAN of the Senate and chairman, Senate Committee on Information and Communication, Senator Ayogu Eze in this interview speaks on the challenges and achievements of the Sixth Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as what Nigerians should expect from the Seventh Senate when it is proclaimed on the June 3, 2011. Excerpts:

The Sixth Senate of Nigeria is winding down in the next few weeks. Looking back in the last four years what would you say were the highlights of the out-going Senate?

The high point of our tenure revolves around stabilising our democracy. In this Sixth Senate, the country passed through very trying moments when we had to lose a president in office and it seemed as though the country was going to come apart. It took the depth and legislative maneuvering of the leadership of the Senate for us to get round the problem through the Doctrine of Necessity. That singular move by the Senate and ultimately by the National Assembly was what kept this country and preserved the corporate existence of this country as a united nation. That is something to remember.

The other one is the amendment of the constitution. Before now, the constitution had been amended through military fiat. This is the first time the constitution was amended through dialogue, negotiations and legislative brinkmanship without any crisis. We have proved now that our democracy is maturing. One of the tests of any stable democracy is the ability to organise a country in a manner that consensus can be quickly built without recourse to arms or conflict.

That is something that we need to give ourselves credit for. You are also aware that we passed a number of high impact bills during the period for the good governance of the country. I think these are some of the immediate highlights that come to mind when you want to talk about the Sixth Senate.

But on top of that is the stability that the current leadership has brought. This is the first time in the history of the National Assembly that you will have a senate president who will start from the beginning of the senate to the end without as much as a hiccup, not to talk of a change of leadership. I think that is because of the level of maturity of the leadership.