Bauchi Assembly holds valedictory plenary, passed 105 bills, moved 131 motions, 93 matters of urgent public importance in 4 years

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The outgone Speaker, Bauchi House of Assembly, Abubakar Sulaiman

By Akanji Alowoludo, Bauchi

Bauchi State House of Assembly on Thursday, held a valedictory plenary session to mark the end of the 9th Assembly presided over by the Speaker, Abubakar Sulaiman. 

The Speaker delivered his valedictory speech and expressed gratitude to Almighty Allah who gave them the opportunity and sustained their lives to serve the various Constituencies and  the State for four years.

According to him, “Four years ago, we started this journey as members of the Bauchi State House of Assembly. It’s indeed great privilege for all of us to get this rare opportunity to represent our various Constituencies. I congratulate all of us for successfully delivering this mandate.”

“However, on a sad note, midway to this journey, we lost our respected colleague, Hon. Musa Mante Baraza of Dass Constituency. His loss had hugely shocked and pained all of us. The memory of our moments with him will remain indelible in our minds. May I at this juncture ask for one minute silence and special prayer in honour of Late Hon. Mante by the Deputy Speaker Hon. Danlami Ahmed Kawule”, he said. 

The Speaker continued saying, “My Honourable Colleagues, at this juncture, from the bottom of my heart, I want to sincerely extend my deep appreciation, on behalf of Ningi Central Constituency, for putting your trust on me in which you elected me as Speaker of this Honourable House and supported me through thin and thick to deliver. Producing a Speaker has been a lifetime dream of my Local Government, Ningi, we are grateful to you for making our lifetime dream come true.”

According to him,”With your support, I have risen through the ranks to become the Vice Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria North-East Zone and subsequently the Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria. I am happy that with your support and prayer, I have taken my Constituency, the Honourable House and our dear State to the national limelight where we contributed positively in nation building.”

He added that,”Despite the hitches we faced at inception and the effects of covid-19, we were able to overcome the challenges and we have done creditably well in term of legislation, representation, oversight functions and other responsibilities.” 

Abubakar Sulaiman said that,”We have succeeded in building synergy between the Executive and the Legislative Arm of Government, where, despite our party and other differences we found a common ground of working together for the best interest of the people of our dear State.” 

He stressed that,”Some people initially thought because of the nature of composition of the Assembly, there will be chaos and rancour between the two arms but, with the will of Almighty Allah, the Executive Arm under the leadership of His Excellency, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammad and members of the Assembly put people first and rendered all needed support for the success of the administration.”

According to him,”The 9th Assembly has shown so much commitment in making sure people of Bauchi State derived a lot of dividends of democracy by burying all our differences and working together for the overall interest of the people of Bauchi State.” 

He said that, “Whenever we are in the Chamber, we set aside our differences and put Bauchi State at the centre. Our political party is Bauchi State, and we worked for the best interest of Bauchi State, which resulted in massive development of every part of the State.” 

The Speaker added that,”This Assembly, in four years, has passed 105 Bills into Law. 55 of which are Executive Bills while 50 are private/member Bills. We have equally moved 131 motions, 93 matters of urgent public importance, received 54 messages from the Executive, received 22 petitions and 102 committee reports were laid before the Assembly.”

According to him,”This is of course great milestone and unprecedented in the history of Bauchi State House of Assembly. This has further proven the fact that the 9th Assembly under my leadership, is people oriented.

He boasted that the Assembly has effectively and efficiently carried out oversight functions by strictly scrutinizing all the activities of MDAs in order to make sure that the people of the State are not shortchanged by any public official or contractor. 

He also said that, “We have ensured that our people got value for the resources expended in every MDA. We have partnered with the Executive Arm and made sure all leakages of our precious though meagre resources are effectively blocked.” 

In term of representation, the Speaker said that,”I will unequivocally say that every member of this Honourable House has done creditably well in giving quality representation to his Constituency. The 9th Assembly is blessed with members who are patriotic and have development of their constituencies as their top agenda.”

According to him,”Every Honourable Member has executed many developmental initiatives in his Constituency. I have visited many Constituencies to either launch a developmental programme or commission a project. I must say; I am very proud of being the Speaker of this Assembly that consists members that have people their at their hearts.”

He then seized the opportunity to specially thank the Governor of the State,  Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammad for all the supports and cooperation he rendered to the legislative Arm and the positive impact his administration made in the various Constituencies. 

According to him, “A former parliamentarian himself, Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammad has provided a level playing ground where our legislative responsibilities were carried out without interference. We thank his Excellency for the respect he had shown for the Legislative Arm which culminated into productive bond between the two arms that led to the smooth delivery of unprecedented dividends of democracy to all parts of our dear State.”

“I wish to further, on behalf of our Constituents across the 31 Constituencies, express our gratitude to His Excellency, on for the numerous developmental projects executed in the Constituencies. We pray to Almighty Allah to give him more wisdom and strength to continue transforming our dear State to an enviable height,” he said.

“I will like to also extend my special appreciation to the leadership of this Honourable House; the Deputy Speaker Hon. Danlami Ahmed Kawule, Majority Leader Hon. Tijjani Muhammad Aliyu, Deputy Majority Leader Hon. Baballe Abubakar Dambam, Minority Leader Hon. Bakoji Aliyu Bobbo, Chief Whip Hon. Tukur Ibrahim, Deputy Whip Hon. Bello Muazu Shira and Minority Whip Hon. Wanzam Muhammad for the massive support they gave me. They are the compass in which I relied on for direction every time,” he added. 

The Speaker also thanked his colleagues most sincerely for their support and cooperation saying that,”Our achievements wouldn’t have been possible without the support of staff and management of this Honourable House, especially the Clerk of the House. I thank you so much for making our work so easy. We appreciate the positive contributions of our aides who have performed wonderfully well in assisting us to discharge our responsibilities.”

He further said that,”We appreciate the positive contributions of members of the press. You have done very well in informing our people and the world about what we are doing. I thank you so much on behalf of my Honourable Colleagues. I also thank the security agencies for being so much helpful in providing all the needed security for the smooth conduct of our activities.”

Abubakar Y Suleiman then emotionally said that,”My Honourable Colleagues, as a human being, I cannot be perfect. In this four years, I must have, either knowingly or unknowingly wronged you. I therefore seek for forgiveness from all of you. On my own part, I have wholeheartedly forgiven whoever wronged me.”

” Finally, I congratulate Honourable Members who were re-elected and are returning to the Bauchi State House of Assembly. I congratulate Hon. Bala Rabilu who is going to the National Assembly. For some us whose election’s outcome were not favourable and are not returning, I urge you not to despair,” he stressed. 

According to him,”This should make you stronger. Many good things will follow In Sha Allah. You should continue to make positive contributions towards the development of our dear State. We have built a solid bridge and bond between us, even as some us would not return as colleagues in the 10th Assembly, we should remain brothers and great partners”.

The Speaker closed by calling on the members of the incoming 10th Assembly to consolidate on the gains and achievements of the 9th Assembly so that the State will remain on the path of rapid development being championed by Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammad.

After his valedictory speech, the Speaker opened the floor for members to make their remarks on the auspicious day.

3. In his remarks the Deputy Speaker Hon. Danlami Ahmed Kawule representing Zungur/Galambi Constituency said that he served in the 7th Assembly while the day was the final day of his service in the 9th Assembly. 

He explained that he was very happy with the people he worked in the 9th Assembly saying, “Though we came from different political parties, when it comes to matter of allowing the Governor to perform his duties, we all cooperated. We all agreed we are one family.”

The Deputy Speaker expressed his gratitude to the Speaker for the opportunity given to him to preside many plenaries of the House which no Deputy Speaker enjoyed such kind of privilege before. 

He stressed that, “Due to this opportunity that the Speaker gave me I was privileged to sworn n 17 members of this Honourable House. This will remain memorable in my life. We are one family and we’ll remain one family.”

Hon. Danlami Kawule also said that he will always remain ready to contribute and cooperate with his former colleagues and thanked the Members for the support they have given him especially whenever he is presiding the plenary of the House saying, “Wherever I find myself I will not fail you and I will be with you.” 

The Majority Leader Hon. Tijjani Muhammad Aliyu representing Azare/Madangala Constituency said that everything that has beginning must have an end, the 9th Assembly started with rancour in which some people accused APC members are anti development but Allah in his infinite mercy has showed it to everybody that the APC members care about the progress of the State.

He said that in history, there was no Assembly that helped the Executive arm to do its work like how the 9th Assembly helped the present PDP led administration saying that, “The history of achievements of Governors Bala Mohammad cannot be completed without the mentioning of the 9th Assembly.” 

According to him, “It’s s now proven that APC members are patriotic and lovers of Bauchi State. Whether you like it or not APC is a great Party in Bauchi State and whether you like it or not up to day APC has majority in the Bauchi State House of Assembly”. 

He also stated that all the 31 members of the House have development of their people at their heart, though they are not infallible they can make mistake but the positive contributions are more than the negative aspect. 

Tijjani Muhammad Aliyu prayed to Allah to pardon their shortcomings and thanked the Speaker, leaders and members of the House for the unity that the 9th Assembly enjoyed. 

He urged the incoming 10th Assembly to consolidate on their achievements and make corrections where mistakes are identified. 

While urging the  Members to maintain their relationship because the end of the Assembly should not be the end of their brotherhood, the Leader also said that he has forgiven all.

The Minority Leader, Hon. Bakoji Aliyu Bobbo representing Chiroma Constituency thanked the opposition APC Members for the cooperation they have given in the smooth running of the House and PDP administration.

According to him, “We started with difficulties but Allah brought relief because of the cooperation the APC members gave. We thank APC members on behalf of Bauchi State Government.”

Hon. Bobbo also thanked his Constituency for given him opportunity to serve them for two terms and for the opportunity to serve our dear State just as he also thanked the staff of the assembly for the cooperation and guidance they have given them especially his committee secretary. 

The Minority Leader asked his colleagues to forgive each other and urged those who won return to be good ambassadors of the 9th Assembly.