Lawmakers Elected To Work With The President –Akpabio Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Wednesday, May 21st, 2025 (AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has stated that lawmakers were elected to cooperate with the president and not confront him. Akpabio said this in an upcoming feature documentary to celebrate two years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration. According to him, legislators are not elected to fight the executive but to work across party lines for the national progress of the country. “When elected into the national assembly, whether in the senate or the house of representatives, your constituents will not give you boxing gloves,” he said. “It’s not a boxing tournament. You are there to work in a bipartisan manner for the interest of Nigeria.” According to him, the cordial relationship between the national assembly and the presidency in the past two years hinged in a shared commitment to development. “If you spend all your energy fighting the executive, who will work for Nigeria?” he asked. Akpabio disclosed that the present administration is the first in the history of the country where the president, vice-president, and first lady are all former senators. “We have started the bill for enacting legislation to enable us first purchase automobiles from Nigerian companies before thinking of importing them,” he said. “We lose billions of dollars annually importing vehicles and other items that can be produced locally.” Also, he said Nigeria must quickly rebuild its manufacturing base, which once thrived on textiles and cash crops. “Over 50 textile companies have left Nigeria. The cotton industry collapsed. The groundnut industry collapsed. The palm oil industry collapsed,” he said. “Look at countries like Malaysia that have leveraged palm oil to boost their economies.” The former Aka Ibom governor also applauded the “Nigeria First” policy of the Tinubu administration, adding that it deserves full legislative support. “We are going to make laws and produce bills that ensure almost every item we consume that can be produced in Nigeria is produced in Nigeria,” he said. “Taking Nigeria First means bringing industries back to the country to serve our population of over 200 million.” Short URL: https://www.africanexaminer.com/?p=102686