The Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly and 2023 Gubernatorial flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Francis Oborevwori has said that he desires to bequeath to the next generation of state lawmakers, a legacy of legislative stability, vibrancy, effective lawmaking and oversight functionality.
He made this assertion while answering questions posed to him by journalists at the 3rd anniversary of the 7th Assembly press conference on the 10th June, 2022, at the Assembly complex in Asaba, Delta State.
Oborevwori stated that as a result of the cordial working relationship between the Legislature and the Executive in the State, Deltans are witnessing peace and development, adding that he would desire to hand same atmosphere of stability, conviviality and understanding to the incoming leadership of the State Assembly.
Hon. Sheriff Francis Oborevwori
The Speaker debunked the insinuation that the House of Assembly under him had operated as a rubber stamp, lacking the integrity and courage to challenge the Executive. However, he revealed that he earned the position of the Deputy Speaker of the Conference of Nigerian Speakers as a result of the stability, vibrancy, effective lawmaking and cordial working relationship he was able to deploy working with the Executive Arm of Government, House of Assembly Service Commission, Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) and other key stakeholders within the State.
According to him,
“We are not rubber stamp, we respect ourselves and that is why the Executive is treating us with utmost regard. It takes a vibrant, focused and meticulous Speaker in Delta State to survive five uninterrupted years of leadership. It can only be as a result of unity of purpose, understanding and respect to the principles of separation of powers.
“We won the Most Vibrant House of Assembly in Nigeria on merit. The indices are there based on the training and retraining policy we had harped on from the inception of our administration, for effective service delivery.
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“For this Legislative year alone, we received 25 bills and 21 had been debated on and duly passed into law. Delta is one of the first states in the federation to operate financial autonomy within the three arms of government. So, we are receiving awards and commendations everywhere because of our sense of responsibility and accountability.
“Let me tell you that we are different because, our bills are people oriented bills passed through processes and procedures. We have passed well over 70 bills into law since the inception of the 7th Assembly and they are all impactful laws on Deltans; for example the law backing the Job Creation policy of the Government under Senator Ifeanyi Okowa. That law has come to stay, and going forward, it will continue to impact on the lives of Deltans. Our plenaries are conducted on the basis of robust debates geared towards enacting people oriented laws to impact the lives of Deltans”, the Speaker said.
