Today, the 8th Senate marks another watershed moment in our vision to take lawmaking back to the people with the symbolic launching of the Senate President’s Suggestion Box. Many may ask what we seek to achieve with this launch and wonder the correlation between the suggestion box and making laws. For the 8th Assembly, this event ticks all the boxes in terms of our vision which is to ensure that laws we make impact on our peoples’ lives.
Again, we promised the Nigerian people that this 8thSenate will be different. That we will do things differently. Some thought we were playing rhetoric but our footprints are everywhere clearly showing we mean what we are saying. We have adopted our legislative agenda, we are retooling our policy formulation process through closer engagement with key government agents, meeting with industry leaders,using courtesy call opportunities, to help us fully understand the state of things as we put together legislative interventions to help deal with the problems.
This Senate promised that we will be open to all Nigerians and engage them more robustly as we deliver laws with far reaching impact on their lives.For us this means having a strong feedback mechanism that is non-discriminatory, direct, open, uninhibited and continuous is equally as important.
With this launch today, we are saying that we are ready to hear and listen to all Nigerians of goodwill. With the Suggestion Box, which is both physical and virtual, we are saying we are interested in your opinion irrespective of your background, political orientation, social status, gender, religious or ethnic orientation. Be sure that this, your suggestions, opinions and ideas will not go unnoticed. The media is an important source of our feedback but hearing from you directly is for us much more enriching and unadulterated.
The 8th Senate is by this launch, inviting you to come share your experience with us. Whether you are an elected member, worker, tourists, government official, NGO, media or a co-citizen of this great country visiting the National Assembly, we invite you to come change Nigeria with us.
It is my hope that as we use this suggestion boxes and engage much more closely with you our constituents we are able to build a much closer relationship and a much better National Assembly.
Ladies and Gentlemen: it is my great honour to formally launch, the Senate President Suggestion Box for the good of our people and to the glory of God.
