President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, has reassured Nigerians that the internal challenges confronting the upper chambers of the legislature are being addressed and would soon be resolved, stressing that the Senate under his watch would not sacrifice its constitutional mandate on the altar of personal ambition. He also charged Nigerian workers to cooperate with the government in its current war against corruption.

The Senator Saraki – who stated this yesterday in Abuja while addressing the factional leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), led by its president, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, during a courtesy visit to the Senate president’s office – said that leadership of the Senate will continue to toe the path of dialogue to resolve its challenges.

Reiterating the position of the Senate in handling the demon of corruption which has become the bane of Nigeria, Saraki noted: “We in the eighth Senate have said there will be zero tolerance on the issue of corruption. Corruption is one issue slowing down development and some of the problems we are embarking on. Whether you talk about our refineries not working, you talk of the issue of fuel subsidy, you talk about the high cost of governance. Everything you talked about comes back to this issue of corruption, and I think it is time for all of us, those of us in the National Assembly, the Executive and the workers to show serious commitment.

“When you talk about oil theft, we have Nigerian workers at the terminals who surely must know when these things are going on. Everywhere that there is corruption, some workers are there, either participating or observing. But at the end of the day, who are those people working in these places. They are Nigerian workers. They are not workers from anywhere else. So, I think I will also throw the challenge, now that we are getting the message that the political leadership is ready to take on this thing called corruption.”

Stressing the importance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment in fighting corruption, Saraki averred: “I like to assure you that at the executive side, we have elected the President that will do it well. We now have a great opportunity to win the war against corruption because we have a leadership that we believe has the political will to do the right thing.” He added: “I am making the commitment on behalf of the National Assembly and myself that we are committed to fighting corruption. If you remember, I was the one that single-handedly, in 2011, opened the lid on the fuel subsidy scam that everybody is talking about now. I think we need the cooperation of our workers who know it all. They see it happen. And when you look at the anti-corruption agencies, with all due respect, you will find out that 80 per cent of some of the cases are at the state level.”

Earlier in his remarks, Comrade Wabba said that Nigerians are confident that the eighth Senate led by Saraki will impact positively on their lives, explaining that organised labour believe in Saraki's experience as former governor and ex-chairman of the Nigerian Governors' Forum.

He said: “We recall that as a chairman of the Nigerian Governors' Forum, your intervention helped to resolve the protracted teachers strike over their negotiated 27.5 per cent teaching allowance. Similarly, not long ago, we had cause to condemn the passing of 47 bills in10 minutes by the seventh Senate on the twilight of its lifespan. We note that though you were a member of the seventh Senate, you were one of the few who felt honour-bound to publicly distance yourself from that regrettable incidence.

“Therein lies the source of our hope that the eighth Senate under your watch will be less opaque, less secretive, will witness more transparency; more responsive to the yearnings and aspirations of the Nigerian people.”

•Photo shows Saraki welcoming Wabba, while deputy Senate president Ike Ekweremadu and others look on . . . yesterday in Abuja.