From Kemi Yesufu, Abuja
As the National Assembly nears its second anniversary, Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, among others, will lead high profile guests at the second year anniversary of the Eighth the House of Representatives.
Besides, the House has scored itself high when it said the Green Chamber has surpassed earlier records in lawmaking.
Deputy Chief Whip of the House, Pally Iriase, who spoke at a press conference to announce events scheduled to mark the chamber’s second year anniversary, posited that majority of the laws passed will trigger economic growth as well as contribute to national development.
He also disclosed that, in tandem with the aspirations of a large number of Nigerians, the House will ensure it passes bills related to the oil sector, including the Petroleum Industry Bill and anti-corruption laws before going on annual vacation in July.
The lawmaker equally stated that House will expedite action on making its e-voting system better known as e-parliament fully functional, adding that contractors handling the electronic voting equipment will test run it starting from today.
Iriase ascribed peace in the House to Speaker Yakubu Dogara’s leadership style even though he acknowledged that the bitter race for the office in 2015.
“In spite of the stormy beginning, the Eighth House has defied all negative expectations because of the maturity of the presiding officer we eventually came up with. We settled down to business quickly and, as of today, we are proud to say we have broken all records; in terms of delivering on our core mandate.
“As we speak, more than 1, 055 bills have been introduced on the floor of the House of Representatives.
159 have been passed and we are currently processing not less than 500 bills which are at various stages of consideration,” he said.
Iriase said as part of activities marking the chamber’s second anniversary, the keynote address will be delivered by Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN) and a lecture on “Image perception of the Legislature: Causes and Possible solutions,” would be delivered by Chairman of Thisday’s Editorial Board and former presidential spokesman, Olusegun Adeniyi.
He reiterated that Osibanjo will lead dignitaries to the anniversary celebration, including Saraki and Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Walter Onnoghen.