It’s sentimental, laughable to call me Executive’s rubber stamp —Lawan

President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, has described
insinuations that he is a rubber stamp to the Executive as
“sentimental and laughable.”

Lawan made this known in a statement signed by his Special
Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mohammed Isa, when addressing a
group, Women Parliamentarians, led by Senator Joy Emordi in
Abuja.

He noted that his belief in President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision
and that of the All Progressives Congress should not be
misconstrued as not independent-minded.

He said: “During my campaign, I was called a potential rubber
stamp Senate President to the Executive; maybe because I am close
to the President, or because I believe in his cause.

“There is no time that I will ever be a rubber stamp. Yes, I
believe in President Buhari as a person and I believe in my party,
the APC, but I believe that our problems as Nigerians are Nigerian
problems.

“They are neither APC nor PDP problems, they are Nigerian
problems that require Nigerian solution. So, we have to work
together.

“We will be there for the executive arm of government all the
time in moving this country forward.

“We are going to challenge the executive in a manner that is
decent but decisive.

“As a minister, you have to do your ministerial job well. We
will make government appointees to do what is required of them.

“We have to deal with the issues confronting us. It is not going
to be easy, but we have to build a relationship that have mutual
respect, collaboration and partnership. It is achievable.

“We are not here for self-serving. We came here with a lot of
experiences to impact positively in our country. We are here and we
will remain focused to make this government work.”

He used the occasion to charge Nigerian women to be more
involved in politics.

“The political space in the country is wide enough to
accommodate our women, but the ball is in their court to take the
advantages,” he said.

Emordi congratulated the Presiding Officers and the leadership
of the 9th Senate for what she described as smooth transition.

She urged them to use their expertise to better the lots of
Nigerians.

Emordi said the group was formed to give support where necessary
to serving women in the parliament.

“It is our objective to promote cordial relationship between the
executive and legislature, and remove the boundaries on women
participation in politics for good governance,” she said.

(NAN)

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