Massive infrastructural developmental projects will commence as soon as the presidency signs the 2017 Appropriations bill into law, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara said on Sunday.
The Speaker made this disclosure when he paid His Imperial Majesty, Eze Dr. Isaac Ikonne, a courtesy visit at his palace in Aba, Abia State.
He was in the state to commission some federal projects attracted to the state by Ossy Prestige, the lawmaker representing Aba federal constituency at the House of Representatives, a statement by Dogara’s media aide, Turaki Hassan said.
“I’m happy to report that in the 2017 budget, there are provisions to take care of critical infrastructure and our roads will be provided for.
“Talking about the railways, one of which passes through Umuahia, so many infrastructures were approved in the budget approved by the National Assembly. We believe that very soon, the executive will sign the budget into law and work will kick-start,” he said.
On the role of traditional institutions in the country, Mr Dogara restated that the National Assembly is favourably disposed to assigning constitutional roles to them, saying the institution has a lot to offer in terms of peaceful and harmonious coexistence of the different and diverse people of Nigeria.
He said, “Our strength will always be in our diversity and the only way we can harness the benefits of our diversity, especially for national development, will be if we are able to bring together all the traditional institutions in order to work for peace. As a National Assembly, we are committed to according the traditional institutions with constitutional role, which hitherto was not available.
“This will be captured in the constitutional amendment which we have said that as soon as we are done with the budget, we will pass. But since it is a constitutional issue, some of us are who are learned in the art of constitution making know that it is not only the job of the National Assembly to amend it. It will take the concurrence of two third of all state assemblies, including your own assembly here in Abia.”
The traditional ruler conferred the speaker with the title of Ome Udo 1 of Aba, which means peacemaker, at his palace in Aba,
He said while crowning Mr Dogara that the honour was in appreciation of the Speaker’s relentless efforts at bringing peace, unity, harmony and development to the National Assembly and Nigeria in general as well as his support to the to President Buhari, who himself is a traditional title holder of Ogbuagu 1 of Aba.
