*He's racing against time —Senator Lawan,*Very positive — Senators Braimoh, Anthony

PRESIDENT Umaru Yar’Adua’s declaration to increase the pace of his administration was yesterday received with mixed feelings by Senators, some of whom saw the statement as an admission of failure in the last one and half years of the regime.

Some of the Senators saw the presidential assertion as a gaffe with one calling for an inquiry into how the declaration entered the President’s Ramadan message to the country. Some other PDP loyalists in the Senate welcomed the declaration as an indication of the PDP government’s readiness to shame critics.

The PDP Senators who spoke on record charged the president to follow through his declaration by quick revitalisation of his cabinet with a view to enhancing service delivery to the populace.

Senators Yisa Briamoh (PDP, Edo North), Anthony Agbo (PDP, Ebonyi ), Manzo Anthony (PDP, Taraba North), and Ikechukwu Obiorah (PDP, Anambra South) and Ahmed Lawan (ANPP, Yobe State) were the only Senators who agreed to speak on record on the declaration by the President.
Some Senators from opposition parties called on the issue were not readily available to speak on the development.

A couple of PDP Senators who were contacted expressed reservations on the comments as they said it was an admission of failure.

“No, no don’t ask me about that. If I were the President I would want to find out how that came into the speech,” one otherwise outspoken Senator said last night.

Another Senator from the PDP expressed shock, saying: “You want to put me in trouble. You know I am in PDP but if I was in opposition it is something that I would have made a kill of.”

Senator Lawan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts in his reaction to the president’s speech said:

“He needs to change most of the people in the cabinet. He needs more experienced people. He needs more committed and focussed cabinet and a set of advisers that will always advise on the right thing to do for the betterment of the country.

“I think he didn’t get it right. Most of the ministers appointed are not people who can easily come up with programmes or reforms that they can also follow through to implement. So I will commend him for his courage to admit that the government was very slow.

I will also urge him and advise him to change most of his cabinet and look for people who are very experienced, who are focussed and who can deliver because he has very little time left.

Asserting that the president was running against time, he said: “In a tenure of four years, he has taken one and a half already, possibly only one and a half is left because the last one year is for political campaigns, so he is racing against time.

But some PDP Senators who spoke on record on the issue also charged the president to follow his statement with a revitalisation of his cabinet.

Senator Braimoh said: “I think coming from the President, it is a positive reassurance of the determination of his administration. We know that all is now set for the takeoff of the revatilised administration with anticipated cabinet reshuffle and the new drive of the administration, it is very positive.

“It is an assurance to those in the opposition parties who are not wishing the government well and it is an assurance that we are on track and that statement should tell them we should expect something more positive from the government from now.”

Senator Agbo said: “Nigerians are expecting that and he has to make his team more active. What makes a government is the team the president has assembled. So, he has to, in one way or the other seriously activate his team, his ministers, let them be more dynamic.”

Senator Anthony on his part said: “I can only be very excited about the prospects given to Nigerians by the dividends of democracy. We all agree that it is long overdue and it is better late than never. I am sure that the President means what he says and we have studied him for the past one year and half.

He is a cautious president and I am sure he is deliberately methodical. On our own party, the PDP we will support him.

Senator Obiorah in his own reaction said: “That is a most welcome development in the sense that we know that he is well-meaning.”

Senator Obiorah equally commended the President for his decision to establish the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs as he noted that the decision would go a long way in reversing the serious marginalisation of that region of the country.

Yar'Adua's Sallah speech

President Yar’Adua in his Sallah message had said:
“My Dear Countrymen and Women,
“I greet and rejoice with you all on the happy occasion of this year’s Eid-El-Fitr celebrations.
“I especially congratulate all adherents of the Islamic faith in our midst who have successfully completed the Ramadan Fast.

“As this year’s Eid-El-Fitr celebrations fortuitously precede the 48th anniversary of our coming into being as an independent, self-governing nation, let us all  seize the opportunity of the joint  holidays to reflect on our spiritual life as individuals and how we can contribute more meaningfully towards making Nigeria the great nation envisioned by its founding fathers.

“I would like on this happy occasion to reaffirm my personal commitment to giving our beloved nation the able leadership it requires to successfully overcome present challenges and move forward at greater speed towards the attainment of our collective aspirations as a people.

“With Almighty Allah guiding us, we are already taking steps to restructure and strengthen the machinery of government so as to achieve greater results in the implementation of our seven-point agenda.

“This process of revitalising and repositioning our administration for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery will be carried forward in the coming days to ensure that more positive developments occur rapidly in critical sectors of our national life.

“I pray that Almighty Allah will reward our pious observance of the Holy Month of Ramadan with even greater blessings for our dear nation.

“Happy celebrations.”

Write Comment
Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article. Personal verbal attacks will be deleted. Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed. Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button. Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code.
Name:
E-mail
Title:
Comment:
Code:*
	I wish to be contacted by email regarding additional comments

Comments (8)