Date: 2018-06-26

MY ADDRESS ON THE RESUMPTION OF PLENARY AND OCCASION OF THE 3RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE 8TH LEGISLATURE IN KWARA STATE ON TUESDAY, 26TH JUNE, 2018

Hon. Colleagues,

I heartily welcome you to the resumption of the last phase of plenary session of the 8th Assembly in this Hon. House and equally felicitate with you on the 3rd anniversary of our inauguration as Hon. Members of this House. Today is very important in the life of this Assembly as it signals the end of the 3rd session and ushers in the last lap. It is therefore a moment of stock staking and indeed of sober reflection on the journey so far.

Hon. Colleagues, Let me say for the umpteenth time that this 8th Assembly that I am privileged to preside over is peopled by men and women in whose veins the genuine love for Kwarans run. The undying passion of all of us to serve our people in spite of all odds is not in doubt. It therefore gladdens the heart to know that Kwarans both at home and in diaspora have acknowledged our sacrifices and commitment to good governance without prejudice to democratic norms and values. Our numerous Motions, Matters of Urgent and General Public Importance, Bills and Public Hearings involving experts and professionals in various fields have led to prompt intellectual and robust debates at the Floor of the House and have equally aroused public interest speaks volume of the well-deserved recognition.

In an attempt to justify this deserved recognition and without appearing as blowing one's own trumpet, it behooves us to put it on record that this 8th Assembly has since inauguration received 45 Bills broken down to 38 Executive, 7 Private Member Bills; the highest privately sponsored bills since the inception of the parliament in Kwara State. Of the 45 bills, 34 have been passed, 2 were negatived while 8 others are at various stages of legislative process. 103 Motions have been moved and Resolutions adopted on them have been forwarded to appropriate government agencies for necessary actions. In the same vein, the Hon. House has in the last 3 sessions considered 28 Reports arising from various petitions from members of the public and Matters of Urgent and General Public Importance raised by Hon. Members.

Hon. Colleagues, you will all recall that as a result of the undiluted legislative disposition, this Assembly's intervention that resulted in the timely completion of rehabilitation of Ilorin-Mokwa road is not to be forgotten in a hurry. Similar interventions were made to douse the tension occasioned by non-payment of salary to teachers and staff of local government in the State during the turbulent periods of economic recession. It may equally be too soon to forget our timely intervention that resulted in the reduction of school fees at Kwara Polytechnic, to mention but a few. These are some of a plethora of interventions of this House which have direct impact on the generality of the people and are unprecedented in the history of Legislature since creation of the State. I quite agree that we have not yet attained our targets as the best is yet to come. It is however necessary to salute the spirit behind these landmark achievements that we've all imbibed.

My dear Colleagues, as full blown politicking commences ahead of the 2019 general elections, it is imperative to remind ourselves that the 4-year mandate that brought us here still subsists. I therefore call for a legislative session with more zeal and dedication to the upliftment of Kwara and its people in spite of obvious distractions.

However, the little positive impacts we have been able to make couldn't have been possible without the support, cooperation and understanding of the other arms of Government particularly, the Executive. It is therefore pertinent to specially commend the Executive Governor of Kwara State and his cabinet members for their support thus far.

I wish to also sincerely thank the management and staff of the House of Assembly for their commitment to our course. You remain the engine room of the Legislature. I urge you to keep the flag flying.

Furthermore, I wish to appreciate the dutifulness of members of the fourth estate of the realm for their timely and unbiased reportage of legislative businesses in the State. It is our hope that the spirit behind this wonderful partnership will continue to wax stronger as the tenure of this Assembly winds down.

This address will not be complete without a congratulatory message to the All Progressive Congress (APC) family in the State on our successful outing at the just concluded National Convention of our party. I particularly congratulate and commend the leadership of Senator Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON, Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for ensuring an indivisible APC in the State and for successfully returning Mall. Bolaji Abdullahi to the seat of National Publicity Secretary. It is hoped that the new executive of the party will hit the ground running in tackling the various intra party challenges head on with a view to placing the party at a vantage position ahead of the 2019 General Elections.

Once again, I welcome us back to plenary and wish us an eventful session.

Thank you and God bless.