ABUJA — In the midst of hardship facing Nigerians, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said that Nigerians will not forgive the present government if nothing was done to ameliorate their living standard.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara after inauguration, yesterday. Photos: Olugbemiga Olamikan/

The Speaker specifically said that it will be disastrous for the country, if the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, that promised the people good governance disappoints them.

He charged the government of the APC to make conscious efforts to deliver on its promises to Nigerians, adding that it will be a disaster if it fails.

Speaking when he  received Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State at the National Assembly, yesterday, the speaker urged those saddled with the leadership responsibility to make conscious efforts to deliver its promises.

According to him, it was the yearning of the people for a positive change in their lives that led to the massive support the APC got in the last general elections.

He said: “Our people have witnessed bad leadership, especially in the  last eight years. It will be a disaster if we don’t save this situation.”

Dogara said the people of Bauchi state gave overwhelming support to the APC in all the elections into the two arms of government because they looked forward to a better life under the change regime.

He said, “Everybody knows the passion of our people in Bauchi State.  They embraced us against all odds, against the sitting governor because they feared the kind of situation in which they found themselves under the last regime and they needed change and thank God we came with this promise of change.

Tasks Gov Abubakar

Dogara urged the governor to ensure that he brings together all appointees from the state in order to harness their resources for the progress and development of the state, adding, “If there is no leadership, this will not happen.

“This time around, we should be careful. Nobody has the luxury to think about himself first. It should be our people first and what will serve the interest of our teeming people from Bauchi State first, is our unity.”

The Speaker assured the governor that members of the National Assembly would give him maximum support in building the state, assuring, “We must deliver on the promise for change.”

Speaking earlier, Governor Abubakar, accompanied by his Chief of Staff,  said they had come to identify with the Speaker for all the good things he had been doing to stabilise the polity.

He noted that having taken over power after 16 years of rule by another political party, the task of stabilising the polity was herculean and required men and women who had clarity of thoughts and ability to stabilse the polity to occupy the positions such as that occupied by the speaker.

He assured the speaker of the state’s support in the task of stabilising the polity and bringing Nigeria out of the dungeons and also lauded the crop of lawmakers in the House of Representatives, saying they will do their people proud.

Reps pass 130 bills to first reading same day

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives, yesterday, passed 130 Bills to first reading in one sitting.

Speaker Dogara, who described the development as unprecedented also assured that about 20 of the bills will pass through second reading next week.

The Speaker further said that it was expected that the bills would be passed into law before the end of the first quarter of 2016.

Though he said that there were still more interventionist bills, he explained that the intention of passing the bills same day was to clean its books, adding that for any change to be sustained, it has to come by way of legislation.

Dogara said the National Assembly owed Nigerians the responsibility of keeping its laws up-to-date.

Among the 130 bills that scaled through the hurdle of first reading same day include the Corporate Manslaughter Bill which the Speaker personally sponsored, Medical and Dental Practitioners Act (Amendment) Bill and Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Amendment) Bill sponsored by Uzoma Nkem-Abonta.

Others include Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, Recovery of Public Property (Special Provision) (Repeal) Bill, Dangerous Drugs Act (Amendment) Bill sponsored by Chike Okafor, and National Minimum Wage Act (Amendment) Bill sponsored by Peter Akpatason among others.