AN ADDRESS PRESENTED BY HIS EXCELLENCY
SENATOR ANYIM PIUS ANYIM,
PRESIDENT OF SENATE,
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE
FIRST RETREAT OF DISTINGUISHED SENATORS OF
THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA HELD AT
METROPOLITAN HOTEL CALABAR FROM
SATURDAY 10TH FEBRUARY TO
MONDAY 12TH FEBRUARY 2001.
PROTOCOL.
I wish to welcome all of you to this retreat and to thank the Almighty God for journey mercies he granted to us.
May I also thank the President, Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria Chief Olusegun Obasanjo GCFR for being with us today.
We are gathered here in this city of Calabar to rub minds together on the best way of building an enduring democratic legacy for our nation Nigeria especially at the highest level of law making which we now occupy.
Nigerians elected us in 1999 with a lot of expectations and unless there is a collective Will and determination on our side to work in unison in terms of goals and objectives, they are likely going to be disappointed.
I believe that despite our individual opinions,different political parties, idealogies and beliefs, we owe this Nation a responsibility of bringing democratic dividends to our electorates.
I want to sincerely thank all of us for the way we have gone so far . We have made a lot of achievements in the passage of bills and oversight functions of the Executive. However, there is much yet to be done. Whatever that is to be done, must be well planned and systematically executed and monitored. It is true that those who fail to plan, plan to fail.
We have brought professionals from both far and near for this retreat. Areas such as Foreign policy, Executive/legislative relationships, economic policies and implementation, legislative procedures, budget preparation, implementation and monitoring process etc are expected to be looked into during this retreat.
I have no doubt in my mind that all of us will not only participate fully to the end, but will at the appropriate session make contributions on the best way the Senate can achieve its goals as set out in the calendar as well as position itself rightly in the eyes of Nigerians and the international community. This positioning requires collective efforts since we all share in whatever happens to the Senate at moment.
May I once more thank all of us for being here and especially the committee that worked to see that this retreat is a reality. There is no doubt that at the end of this retreat, we are going to have a Senate that is more determined to deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians.
I wish to thank Mr President once more for being with us and my colleagues for their support, understanding and co-operation while praying for a successful retreat and journey mercies back to Abuja.
Thank you for your attention and God bless.