Texts of the Remarks by the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. (Barr) Onofiok Luke at the resumption of Plenary in the 4th legislative year of the 6th Assembly of the Akwa Ibom State Legislature, today, September 4th, 2018
……………Dear distinguished colleagues, we must ascribe glory and honour to the one who most deserves it, our God who has granted us the Amazing Grace to come this far in this 4-year journey. We must thank Him for ensuring our safety, our sound mental and physical state and our collective sense of patriotism and commitment to the building of our state. For our safe return from recess, for the peace and tranquility experienced in our dear state, and for the leadership that our state is blessed with, we must give all adoration to our Heavenly Father.
As we return to full legislative duty today, we come with a sense of pride and satisfaction looking back on what God has enabled us to achieve in the last three years of the 6th assembly. We are encouraged by the record number of private member bills which we passed, the numerous motions resolved and the public petitions which were heard and to which we gave legislative interventions. These accomplishments are a source of encouragement for more to be done by this assembly in this last lap. The continuous rapid development of our state makes it absolutely imperative that we increase our pace of work, engage more deeply with our people and pattern our legislative outputs to answer to their yearnings and aspirations. Our sworn effort in this last lap of the 6th Assembly shall be to avail our people a more than robust legislature, one which will be marked by indelible legacies.
We reiterate our assurance to Akwa Ibom people that in this last leg of the race, the assembly has returned ready to work with the aim of bequeathing a stronger institution in the legislature. Our collective support to the governor’s developmental efforts will most definitely include legislation that encourages enterprise and industry building. It will involve legally making the state an enabling atmosphere for investments and the growth of economically viable industries.
Specifically, we will be concluding legislative processes on pending bulls and on new ones like the social housing scheme bill, the youth development fund bill, the state security trust fund bill, and the state legislative fund management bill in view of the financial autonomy for state legislatures in the country.
One of our core objectives this last year will be a concerted effort towards maximizing the opportunities to keep government on track through our legislative oversight responsibility. We will increase legislative actions on the fiscal health of government. For instance, the review of budget performance is now to be done quarterly, away from the bi-annual tradition.
Let me use this opportunity to thank the state governor, His Excellency, Mr Udom Gabriel Emmanuel for proving against the odds that Akwa Ibom state could not have been in the hands of a better manager at a time like this when our country is faced with an unprecedented economic travails. But even above this, the 6th assembly acknowledges our governor’s unfaltering calm and administrative dexterity despite obvious political distractions in the state. I want to categorically state here that the governor has been a source of inspiration and pillar of strength for his people, qualities that distinctively describe a charismatic leader. Our governor is a leader that the 6th Assembly has collectively resolved to wholeheartedly support as he takes development to another level in Akwa Ibom state. His plausible accomplishments are the basis that members of this assembly remain resolved towards working for the return to office for a second term of His Excellency. It should be on record that the 6th assembly will not plunge itself into the negative side of history by doing anything that could prove inimical to the success of this administration or which could cut the live of this progressive administration in its very prime.
Finally, distinguished colleagues, as we resume today, I ask for your usual cooperation, the bond, and unity for the sake of our state. As the first among equals, I pledge a listening ear to you, absolute loyalty to our state, and commitment to God Almighty by whose Amazing Grace I sit here. I will continue to solicit the prayers of our constituents for the leadership of our state, while urging that they continue to hold us accountable through engaging in constructive criticisms. To build the Akwa Ibom of our dream, we must work together towards the realization of an educated, united, healthy, and prosperous state under one leadership and under one God.
Thank you and it is my pleasure to welcome all of us to the 4th legislative year of the 6th assembly, the People’s Assembly.
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