COURTESY BY THE STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

Transcript

Your Excellency, my reliable and ever ready compatriot and the only learned deputy Governor in Bayelsa State. Right Honorable Mr. Speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, the Deputy speaker of the state assembly, other principle officers of the assembly and my colleagues, members of the state assembly. As a parliamentarian with the parliamentary background that I just resigned on the 14th of February, I still have the right to address you as my colleagues.

First, let me also thank you for this visit at a very short notice, the Speaker got in-touch with me on a short notice and I think virtually all the 24 members are here. We are a state of 8 local governments constitutionally privileged and I think you understand what I mean and from the day I was sworn-in, I have taken the oath of office to be Governor of this state, I am no longer a P. D. P Governor, I am the Governor of Bayelsa State. The APC, unfortunately we don't have any other political party in the State Assembly apart from A.P.C and P.D.P. All the smaller parties could not produce any lawmaker. So, I am the Governor of all of us and as I said on the day of swearing in, we are too few to be feuding the way we are feuding. Let us emphasize the thing that bring us together as brothers and sisters and de-emphasize the things that divide us. The bitterness, the acrimony is too high and I’m sure God did this. It is not me; it is God that has brought me to unite us. Please join me, let us build this state that all of us craved for in the old Rivers State from where we were marginalized and for us to build the state, of course we all know that the three arms of government. The only arm that is a boss to the executive is the legislative arm and that arm must synergize with the judiciary. Because we are all in the soup pot of okra, of salt, of pepper. If you put only the okra, no salt, no pepper, the taste will not be the same. The taste will only come out when you add all the ingredients and we are the ingredients that Bayelsans have put forward to cook the soup. So the ball is right in our court to ensure that we are leaving a legacy of development, a legacy of love, a legacy of hope to ourselves and to our children. We cannot use our hands to destroy our state. It is very easy to destroy but it is very difficult to build. So I want to thank you for answering this call to be here and also to assure you that I’m going to be your lamp, I will be your servant. God has ministered to me to be your servant. Myself and my Deputy Governor, we are here to serve you. We are not your masters, the masters are the people and I’m sure yourself as elected representatives are equally like me, who should be servants. Our state as you know is in dire need of development in every facet. The previous government has done its bit. The last time I came here when the Vice President visited the state, my colleagues who came with me from the National Assembly, who are not from Bayelsa, said "wow, Honorable you guys have this type of government house, our own government house, even my house is finer than the government house of my state". So that is to say, that the previous government has started the foundation of a proper state, if we can get commendations from people like that outside. Educationally, when people cry of schools where are those schools. If we have university in Toru-Orua, who are the students of Toru-Orua university? Are they not Bayelsa children, who will either to be strolling the streets and would have be used negatively? That is the beginning and the foundation for any society to develop. No society can grow above its level of education, so my good brothers and sisters, we are the servants of our people. If this government is going to succeed, about 60 to 70 percent will depend on the legislative arm of government. Bills will be coming, our policies will be on stream and if the legislative arm of government does not cooperate, our bills will not be passed. And so I urge your cooperation, as we are willing to work hand in glove with you. The legislature, the way I have seen it, not just from the theory but from my practical experience, is a place of love. It is a place that doesn't know which local government you come from and which party you belong to. It is a place where when we want to be on the lighter mood, we can stroke ourselves and laugh to stupor. It is a place where we have new friends, brothers not minding political parties and I think that the Bayelsa State House of Assembly is not an exception. Please, let us try and preach peace, unity and love and not just preaching it but also showing it, showing it in our attitude. Certainly, everybody cannot be on a seat at the same time. When leadership comes on stream, others will give the support. The legislature is a place where you have equals because everybody is elected to represent his constituency and the others who emerge as principle officers they are first among equals primus inter pare. And so they themselves will always see the other people as their colleagues. It is not like the executive, where myself and the deputy governor will appoint. The appointment is different from an election and that's why I started by calling you my bosses. You are elected, so you are equals. Those who are privileged to be principal officers are primus inter pare, first among equals. And so my good brothers and sisters, I pray you to have a very fruitful working relationship with the other two arms of government particularly with the executive arm of government. There must be synergy built between the legislature and the executive. While Mr. Speaker was giving his brief remarks, he equally mentioned about the 2020 budget. We have no time. This is February, mid-February, in fact the other side of February and that's why we want to hit the ground running and to do that, we need this meeting, particularly with you because we will be knocking at your door very soon with the 2020 budget. My dear brothers and sisters, power only come from God. Whatever that has happened let us put it behind us.   Our state, most times is a state of rumors. Mr. A has done this Mr. B has not done that. But let us put them behind us. Let us join our hands to build a Bayelsa State that will be a state that will be mentioned in the committee of states in Nigeria. Not known for a state of violence, not known for people that are backwards. Let us be seen as the light and as our name actually suggest. Let us be the glory of all lands. Of all, not some land. The glory of all lands and it begins with you and me. If we don't show the example of people who have come to serve then everybody will become a general in Bayelsa. Let us be lambs. I plead with you and I assure you that I will work as I said hand in glove with you. Right now, you don’t even need me too much because am aware that we started in the National Assembly, the autonomy of the legislative arm of government. And I think that law has come to stay in Bayelsa and am sure that the legislative arm is now autonomous. So it has started already, so it means that a lot of the things you will be doing by yourself, except the ones you need the Executive to intervene. And so I want to thank you once again for this visit and assure you that we have a project, we have a goal and let nothing distract us from the goal of giving good leadership to our people. Let nothing distract us from the goal of improving the standard of living of our people. Thank you, may God bless the Bayelsa State House of Assembly. May God bless Bayelsa State.