SARAKI: NASS COMMITTED TO MAKING ECONOMIC IMPACT

The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki has said the National Assembly is more focused on making beneficial impact to Nigerians in the area of the economy.

Saraki said this during a dialogue session on the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) in Abuja on Monday.
NASSBER is an initiative which seeks to produce synergy between the legislature and the private sector in order to boost the nation’s business environment.
“For us in the 8^th National Assembly lawmaking is not about the number of bills, it is more about impact and we will continue to focus on quality and impact on our people over any other considerations,” Saraki said, adding that, “this is what makes the 8^th National Assembly unique as we are determined to only make laws that will have positive impact on our people.”
According to him, “this is the first time in the history of the country, the National Assembly, in partnership with the private sector, through the NASSBER, initiated a research study to review the legislative instruments impeding doing business in Nigeria and received a report detailing the necessary legislative action required to begin the process of changing the unsupportive legal structures, weak institutional base and obsolete regulatory frameworks in the nation’s business environment.”
He said further: “We want to see that these bills can actually help us create jobs, mobilize private sector investment and promote made in Nigeria goods.
“We would expect that the breakout sessions will offer us a new set of legislative interventions that will help further to cement the impact the first tranche of our work is having.”
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara who was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Yussuf Lasun, noted that the NASSBER initiative was a right step to bring the economy out of recession.
“A little over a year ago when NASSBER was inaugurated, we were very confident it was the right step to take if we were indeed committed to bringing our economy out of recession, and stimulating long term economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable for the shared prosperity of all Nigerians,” Dogara said, adding:
“For the National Assembly, it was a road not travelled before, but we were willing to embark on this journey, not minding the risks, considering the promises it held. Looking back the last 12 months, NASSBER is but a success story of novel synergy, dialogue and engagement between the legislature, development partners, the private sector, the bench and citizens.