By Wale Bakare

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki on Thursday June 9, 2016 during plenary gave an account of his stewardship in the last 365 days alongside other senators to review performance, analyse their strength and weaknesses with a view towards charting  a new course in subsequent legislative year.

Shortly after his emergence on June 9, 2015, Senator Bukola Saraki during his inaugural speech had promised to depart from the taut opaque system of legislation of the 7^th Assembly while ensuring that the 8^th National Assembly under his leadership will bring about openness, Inclusiveness, transparency and accountability.

Despite the drama and the politics of bitterness espoused by his political antagonists opposed to his emergence as the Senate President, eager to settle political battle lost in the political filed in the realms of judicial appeasement, the 8^th Senate notwithstanding recorded unparalleled success unmatched by previous administration.

In realising the Senate’s set objective of enacting useful laws, making timely oversight and life-impacting advocacy, Bukola Saraki has prioritised the act of running a people-centered legislation that uses every available opportunity to engage ordinary Nigerians while placing emphasis on the need to hold their representatives accountable.

As the leader of the highest legislative body in the land, Saraki has strengthen the capacity of the legislative institution to effectively make laws through the passage of bills and consideration of motions that are of utmost importance to an average Nigerian.

Currently, more than 165 bills have scaled the first reading, with over 69 bills in the 2^nd reading while 6 of those bills are in the final lap of the 3^rd reading on the verge of becoming laws subject to ratification by the President.

The electronic Transaction bill 2015, Debt Recovery and Insolvency bill 2015, the Railway Bill and the Amendment of public procurement act among other bills are powerful piece of legislation that complements the executive’s drive towards economy buoyancy and ease of doing business in the country.

The Jamb bill and the Petroleum Industry and Governance Bill popularly called ‘the PIB bill’ both at different reading stages in the Senate are my favourites of the functional bills.

Yearly, parents and students have to contend with Jamb’s cut-off mark in order to gain admission into tertiary institutions. And once such opportunity is missed, it requires special efforts to re-sit for such exams.

The financial burden on the parents and the psychological effect on the students are rather distasteful. This bill seeks to abolish such misfortune by ensuring that results are valid for 3years as opposed to the current one year validity.

Also, the prospect of an eventual passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, (PIB) is somewhat exciting. Previous assemblies have tried without success to ensure its passage, thus courting a controversial mien that puts the 8^thNational Assembly on the forefront of breaking the jinx associated with its passage. This piece of legislation if achieved will revamp the petroleum industry and bring sanity to the downstream sector.

Furthermore, the Senate has attended to 32 out of about 125 petitions sent before it by Nigerians on different spheres of endeavour.  Through such oversight, cases of rape, ill treatment, rights violation, unlawful termination of appointments/employments, and other forms of oppressions have been speedily attended to and resolved.

Motions moved on illegal bulk billing by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the treasury single account (TSA), and the oversight on the passage of the 2016 budget are landmark achievements that highlights the hallmark of the 8^th Senate.

By any measure, it has been an audacious journey for the Bukola Saraki led Senate on the achievements recorded so far cutting across the different areas of human lives and the economy in the last one year.

The 8^th Senate- though not as perfect as many of us may wish for; and some of these accomplishments – as far reaching as they are, may not immediately translate to a better standard of living for most people within its one year of inauguration, however, it should be on record that this Senate is doing things differently with a strong mission to advance the course of ordinary Nigerian, even in the face of daunting global economic challenges.