On Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari called for an efficient working relationship between the government’s executive and legislative bodies, stating this would readily translate into more benefits for Nigerians.
The president observed that between the two arms, “it pays to maintain neighbourliness”
Senate President Ahmad Lawan, in reply, assured the president that the legislature was willing to work with the executive to address the nation’s problems.
Mr Buhari met with the leadership of the National Assembly at the new Presidential Villa Banquet Hall, Abuja, according to a statement by a presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina.
The president said, “cultivating neighbourliness on individual and national level will deepen the values of democracy and speed up development process by saving the cost of delays and repairs.”
The remark of Mr Buhari can be seen as a step to prevent the rocky relationship he had with the eight National Assembly.
Just days before his inauguration in May, the president assessed the relationship between the government’s executive arm and the then-outgoing eighth National Assembly, concluding that it was not the best. He said he was hoping for a better working relationship in the Ninth Assembly between the two arms of government.
Mr Buhari, during Thursday’s dinner, said he was pleased with the voting pattern of principal leaders of the National Assembly, “which showed a lot of maturity and patriotism, and also signalled to all Nigerians that love for the nation supersedes party affiliations.
“I was very pleased that people expressed their desires at the National Assembly across party lines. Neighbourliness is very important.
“It makes sense to cultivate neighbourliness on individual and national level. If you cultivate good relationship with your neighbour, you will save a lot emotionally and materially”, the statement said.
Mr Buhari said Nigeria had benefited greatly by keeping a healthy relationship with neighbors such as Cameroon and the Republic of Benin, noting that the battle against Boko Haram was carried out jointly with neighboring nations.
He urged the legislature to stop comparing Nigeria’s democracy with more developed countries “as every country had its peculiarities and the historical growth patterns had been different, with the developed countries practising liberal democracy for longer years.
“Along the line of development, we are a developing country. We have different experiences.’’
Mr Lawan noted that the ninth National Assembly was different in “attitude, composition, and patriotism’’ and will ensure good “collaboration, partnership and synergy’’ on national issues.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said elections of principal officers in the National Assembly were transparent, assuring that the National Assembly will work with the president, to improve the lives of constituents.
