₦airaland Forum

This is Phoenix Kaande 7.0, it doesn’t need the N550 per liter pms to run, can charge with solar panels and electricity at home, can cover 100km on a charge, accepts battery swapping, 7 seater, approved for short range intra city mass transit, cost only N4.8M

We have begin taking pre orders, to order call +2348163841124 or log onto http://phoenixrenewablesenernergy.com

orazx:
Sterling Bank is partnering with the man who builds solar buses from Borno, Mustapha Gajibo, to build Nigeria’s first commercial solar-powered charging station in Adeola Odeku, VI Lagos. The buses built in Borno will run services in Victoria Island Lagos, and charge here. - Shehu Umar CONGRATULATIONS!!! #nigeriangems #proudlynigerian

According to the firm,the vehicles can run for 100km before the next charge. He @mustapha_gajibo was visited by Osinbajo, Zulum and car designer Jelani Aliyu. I'm putting out this tweet so someone can help his startup raise funding either from abroad or through the private sector.

I dropped out from UNIMAID to pursue dream of building electric vehicles – Borno man, Gajibo

1st May 2022

Twenty-nine-old Borno State indigene, Mustapha Gajibo, speaks to DOGARA BITRUS about his efforts at building electric vehicles


Tell us about yourself.

My name is Mustapha Abubakar Gajibo. I am the Managing Director of e-Transport, a company specialised in converting vehicles running on petroleum to solar energy-powered vehicles. I do that through the use of rechargeable batteries sourced from local materials. I am 29 years old. I am from Gajibo village in the Dikwa Local Government Area.

How did you come about the idea of converting these vehicles?

I have always been creative from young age. I loved creating things, solving problems, so I grew up with that. At some point I came across a company that encourages creativity and I joined the company. Their focus is mitigating the damage being done to the environment by vehicles running on fossil fuel. We decided to come up with this solution of converting such vehicles to those running on electricity or solar energy.

What is your educational background?

As a matter of fact I am a school dropout. I went to primary school in my village, Gajibo; I also finished secondary school but I dropped out at 400 Level in the University of Maiduguri where I was studying Mechanical Engineering. I dropped out deliberately, so I could concentrate on my dream.

I decided that continuing with my education would not give me the time I needed to concentrate on pursuing my dream. So, I decided to put my university education on hold so I can fulfil my dream of helping to solve some of the problems in our environment.

When did this journey of converting vehicles begin?

The idea of converting vehicles running on petrol to electrical vehicles started about three years ago when I noticed the influx of tricycles into the country from China and India. I imagined the job opportunities that were being lost as a result of the importation of these tricycles and the huge amount of foreign exchange that goes out from Nigeria. Then I decided to start manufacturing the tricycles locally to reduce the stress and help our economy. We have been on this journey for three years now. And using only locally-sourced materials, we have we succeeded in manufacturing tricycles of even better quality than the imported ones. Our tricycles run on electricity as opposed to the imported ones. When fully charged, our tricycle can travel a distance of 200 kilometres. As I speak now, we have produced 50 of these tricycles and they are on the roads being used for commercial purposes in Maiduguri.

You said you began with tricycles; at what point did you graduate to converting buses?

Moving forward, we also came up with the design on how to convert existing petrol buses to electrical ones and we have succeeded too. We have been able to develop a process of converting these fossil fuel-powered buses to full electric buses and thanks to God we were able to build the first prototype and tested it and the result is very good. Right now, we have produced about 15 units. Like the tricycles, all our buses are also plying the roads in Maiduguri at the moment.

Tell us about the kind of materials you use and where you source them?

In the beginning, most of the raw materials we used were imported. But along the line, we felt that as an indigenous company trying to create local content, we should source our raw materials locally. So, we started to fabricate the chassis using locally-sourced materials. Right now, 80 per cent of the materials used in building the buses are locally-sourced.

Can you speak about the parts of the buses and how exactly they function?

The main parts of the electric vehicle are the battery, motor controller and other gadgets. We use dry cells or batteries with latest facilities, they occupy little space. Again there are solar panels known as 12 Volt lines installed in the vehicles, which help in charging the vehicles. The vehicle is fitted with traffic indicator lights, radio and even an air condition system. These are being powered by the solar panel. The main battery driving the vehicle is charged by electricity. The battery is charged for 35 minutes using solar energy or electricity, and as I said, when fully charged, the vehicle will travel a distance of not less than 200 kilometres before the battery will need a recharge.

Part of the major benefits of these electric buses is that they do not emit carbon monoxide and they are noiseless. This is the direction in which the world is moving now and we are glad we are going in that direction. Also, these buses are cheaper to run compared to the vehicles running on fossil fuel. The effects of the emissions from petrol vehicles are quiet telling on the health of individuals and the environment is also adversely affected.

Have you started selling the vehicles and how much does one go for?

We have not start selling the vehicles but we have set up charging stations where we have people in charge of leasing the vehicles to drivers who bring back returns at the end of every day. In maiduguri, transport fare has increased from N50 to N100 per drop but we charge N50 and our services are in hot demand. Passengers wait at designated bus stops for our cars. Meanwhile, we also have people who have indicated interest in wanting to buy our vehicles while others want to partner us to use our vehicles but we are looking at the possibility of getting the people to buy the buses while our company, which is known as e-ride, will manage the vehicles for them.

We have got some applications for the vehicles and we are considering them. We are also engaging investors who will come in and boost our production from 10 vehicles a month to 50 or more monthly. We build 15 cars in a month but if we can get funding and equipment, we can build 500 in a month.

Going forward, we plan to convert all vehicles to run on solar energy since the resources are locally sourced.

Have you received any kind of support from government?

Everything about the building of the vehicles was purely financed by my company. The company has been engaged in renewable energy for about 10 years now across the country. Most of the fund for the building of these vehicles was from the proceeds of the renewable energy company.

Are you open to sponsorship or government’s support?

We have reached out to government establishments for possible partnership but we are yet to get any positive response from them. Being a first-of-its-kind project in this part of the country, it is very difficult to get people to believe in the project and even accept that it is feasible and join forces to make it a reality.

What were the major challenges that you have faced on this journey?

Funding is a major challenge. As you are aware, without funding one is handicapped but gradually individuals and groups are beginning to show interest and partnering us.

Access to foreign exchange is another challenge we encounter in procuring raw materials as we often resort to black marketers to access foreign currencies, which makes the cost of production higher than necessary. The importation of these materials is another major challenge on its own, for which government intervention is needed.

Furthermore, the government needs to put in place manufacturing policies that will encourage start-ups like us to be able to find our footing. The bureaucracies in the manufacturing sectors should be removed to enable speedy access to resources.

Also, tax waivers, tax holidays, single-digit interest loans should be introduced for manufacturers and entrepreneurs.

DW: We're in Maiduguri, in Nigeria's remote north-east to travel on a revolutionary solar-powered bus service that could be the model solution for cities across the world.

We'll meet Mustapha Gajibo, whose vision has created a cutting edge mobility solution amid the troubles of a crisis region.

And we'll hear from people about the surprise benefits the new bus service offers them as passengers.

Mustapha Gajibo: The current situation of my country, I would say not only my country but the whole world, the price of fuel is going up, the price of transportation is going up high and with the damage that normal vehicles are causing to our environment, so we decided to come up with this as a solution to solve all these problems.

DW: Mustapha's team refits gasoline minibuses with electric motors and battery packs. Charging takes 35 minutes for a 150 kilometer range. The energy source is Maiduguri's plentiful sunshine, captured by more than 150 solar panels.

They've so far converted 10 minibuses and more than 50 tricycles that are in service on the roads of Maiduguri.

Small, flexible transport options, such as minibuses are crucial to life in many cities around the world, but most still run on heavily polluting gasoline or diesel. Though Nigeria is one of the world's biggest oil producers, people in the country regularly suffer from shortages and high prices at the pump.

A ride on these solar-powered buses is not only cheaper, passengers have already picked up on other advantages.

Passenger 1 (speaking Hausa) : Honestly this one is far better than a regular car. This one is faster and makes no noise, it is wonderful.

Passenger 2: When I board this car, there is nothing like: "I am going into the station getting the fuel", whatever. I have to wait for the driver to get fuel. With this one I just go straight to my business or whatever I want to do within the city.

Passenger 3: (speaking Hausa) : I enjoy boarding this bus because it is silent and is cheap compared to other transport that uses petrol or gas.

Whenever I am going somewhere in this town I wait for this bus to come because it is fast and without delays.

DW: Mustapha currently employs a diverse team of engineers, mechanics, technicians and drivers. A welcome sign of recovery in a remote part of Nigeria that was plagued for more than a decade by the Boko Haram terrorist group.

The insurgency may have seriously set back the regional economy, but Mustapha Gajibo is determined to realise his dream

He dropped out of university to start an electric revolution and named his company "Phoenix Renewables" after the mythical bird that rises from the ashes.

Mustapha Gajibo: The whole brand comes out of Borno State where there is no electricity, where there is no security and access to raw materials is very limited, access to technical manpower is very limited, but we are able to come up with this, such a technology and I believe that whatever is being built and designed out of problems tends to even be more stronger because it will withstand almost all the challenges.

DW: Mustapha is already looking beyond adapting combustion vehicles and throughout 2022, his team has been working on its own 12-seater pure electric bus that they have conceived and built from the ground up.

Earlier in 2022 he told us more about the project.

Mustapha Gajibo: We sat down and designed a full bus which will be locally built and fabricated here. So as you can see we have almost reached about 70 to 75 percent completion in the new bus that we are building. When this bus is fully finished it is going to be a 12-seater bus which can cover up to 200 kilometers on one charge and it's going to have all the features the latest vehicles in the world will have, including voice command systems.

DW: If it sounds like the 29 year-old is dreaming big, it's because he is. For example, to properly harness solar power, he wants to build a battery gigafactory in Africa.

Mustapha Gajibo aims to develop clean mobility solutions not only for Africa, but on a global scale.

For this young entrepreneur, it looks like the journey is only just beginning.

COMPANY NEWS: Timely Intervention as Innoson Vehicles Showcases CNG/LNG Powered Vehicles.

Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing has mass-produced varieties of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Buses, a suitable alternative for Nigerians amidst the rising price of petrol and diesel.

The Showcase of the CNG vehicles took place at the IVM factory, Nnewi on Tuesday, 6th June. The vehicles range from trucks, mini-buses, ambulances, long buses, SUVs, and several others.

At the event, the CEO of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing, Chief Dr. Innocent Chukwuma assured Nigerians of the safety of CNG Vehicles and the availability of various kinds of cars.

"We manufacture according to demand. why we manufactured these buses because there is a demand for them now, during the COVID-19 Pandemic, we produced more ambulances, so we are on the ground and ready to produce".

Speaking on the future of alternative fuels, the Innoson Boss says that CNG vehicles bring a solution to total dependence on one or two kinds of vehicles.

"The CNG vehicles are a solution, that's why we produce them. We made space for CNG, LNG, and Fuel so that anyone available in an area can be used to drive the vehicles. Electric cars, biogas, and solar-powered vehicles are also produced in this factory".

The Governor of Anambra State, ably represented by the Commissioner for Industry, Anambra state, Mr. Christian Udechukwu disclosed that Anambra State is gearing up to provide solutions to the challenges facing Nigerians because of the removal of subsidies.

In his words, "We are aware that Innoson has renewable technologies, CNG, LNG and Solar powered technologies that can contribute to the mass transport system in Nigeria and other national solutions".

"The withdrawal of the subsidy has created a shock and the price of fuel has increased by almost 200% leading to restiveness in the Nigerian Labour Congress, the trade unions, and other Nigerians.

The cost of transportation has risen apparently and one of the ways the government can alleviate that is by introducing mass transit systems that run on alternative energies as well as fuel.

The more you have the ones that run on gas and solar, the greater the chances of a stable fuel price due to the existence of choices and Innoson offers that".

He also added that local manufacturing and empowered industries are needed in Nigeria to boost the economy and shrink the national debt profile. All we need is for the industries and everyone else to look to local solutions and Innoson is one."

The Head of Corporate Communications, at Innoson Vehicles, Mr. Cornel Osigwe pointed out the advantages of Natural Gas Vehicles and the need to patronize local manufacturers. According to him, "Gas has high combustion rate than fuel.

So generally, gas is more environmentally friendly. Nigerians are used to petrol cars but the abundance of natural gas has provided sustainable alternatives to all".

Transportation is very crucial to economic development. Beyond the movement of people from one place to another, it also facilitates the quick and effective distribution of goods and services.

At this stage in Nigeria's development, better transportation options are the perfect solution to the rising dependence on petrol and diesel to meet the transportation needs of over 200 million persons.

Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing, an indigenous car manufacturing company has produced hundreds of CNG-powered vehicles suitable for Nigerian and African Roads.

Cornel Osigwe
Head Corporate Communications
Innoson Vehicles

PBAT met with ExxonMobil Execs today: Liam Mallon, President, ExxonMobil Upstream Co.; Richard Laing, Chairman/MD, ExxonMobil Companies in Nigeria; Adesua Dozie, General Counsel, Mobil Producing Nigeria.

His second official Meeting with Biz Execs, after yesterday's with DAPPMAN.

Exxon Mobil Executives; Mr Liam Mallon, Mr Richard Laing and
Mrs Adesua Dozie met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidential Villa

IPMAN Says It Can Force Down Prices Of Petrol

The association said the unbundling of the downstream sector has opened the doors for more investors.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) says it has the numerical strength to force down the price of Premium Motor Spirit also known as petrol.

The National President of the association, Chinedu Okoronkwo disclosed this to journalists at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday.

Okoronkwo said that his members are totally in support of fuel subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu and expressed optimism that the unbundling of the downstream sector has opened the doors for more investors to come in.

The IPMAN president expressed optimism that the association has the numerical strength to force down the price of fuel once they start independent importation of the product.

Tinubu had in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, announced that fuel subsidy has ended.

He said the 2023 Budget made no provision for fuel subsidy and more so, subsidy payment is no longer justifiable.

The announcement caused panic in the oil sector resulting in fuel scarcity and hike in price of petrol.

Following the President’s pronouncement, the Nigerian National Petrol Company (NNPC) Limited announced adjustment in the pump price of petrol which now sells for as high as N500 per litre from N184 per litre.

The Organised Labour had protested the removal of fuel subsidy and met with different representatives of the government. A court stopped the strike of the Labour unions slated for Wednesday (today) even as the unions said they had suspended the action.

DeepSight:
Whats been going on with the main chamber of the House and what is this little room they have been using and what is its capacity, do you know please?

Schemerkhiz:
CAF informed all Member Associations that all the club’s that will play in the 2023/24 CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup will have to have a women’s football team or else can’t get the license to take part in these competitions .

The deadline is June 30.

20. As you are all aware, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, has nominated me to continue serving the people of Nigeria as Chief of Staff in the Presidency. I am humbled by this new call to duty, and I am grateful to all of you who have reached out to me. I have long believed that the ultimate end of all political and governance efforts must be to achieve measurable improvements in the lives of the people on whose behalf we hold office. This fundamental belief in the responsibility of government to be a force for good has been my guiding light. It will continue to be so in my new endeavours. I humbly ask for your prayers and support in this new chapter. I assure you that in this new role, I will work to ensure a cordial and productive relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government whilst respecting the independence and prerogatives of the legislature.

21. For everything, there is a time and season, and we are obligated each season to do the most and the best we can in the time we have. This is a good rule for politics and for life itself. The 9th House of Representatives is ending, and the 10th will shortly be convened. All of us, those whose time in office is ending, and those for whom duty continues, will face the judgment of history. I urge you to keep this in mind and let your actions be guided by the desire to ensure that you are not found wanting by man or God in the final judgment. As a member and Speaker of this honourable House, I have travelled the length of this country, and I have been amazed by the talent and capacity, dogged determination, and resilience of the Nigerian people. The abundance of these qualities among our people assures me that if government lives up to its responsibilities, our people are ready to do the rest. So, we must live up to our responsibilities; there is no other option.

22. I want to express my sincere appreciation to the civil servants and aides who have toiled tirelessly with me during my time here; I thank you all most sincerely for your service. I want you to know that the roles you play in keeping this institution running are crucial to achieving the kind of country we desire. I urge you to please take pride in performing those roles credibly at all times. Reach for excellence in all you do, and resist the cynicism and pessimism that encourages laziness and ineptitude. I also wish to thank our compatriots in the media for their dedicated efforts in ensuring that the exercise of state and economic power is fair and proper and in service of the greater good. A lot of the work we do in the legislature would not be possible without the support and partnerships of civil society organisations and development partners. I want to especially thank the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and several others who have proven worthy partners in progress.

23. For the better part of my adult life, I have traversed the halls of this complex, legislated from the chamber of this hallowed House and built relationships with people from across the country, colleagues past and present. I have met and established genuine bonds of brotherhood with some of the most amazing human beings, and together we have shared experiences that strengthened those bonds. As I transition into my new role, a role unlike the one I have had for these many years, I ask for your support and best wishes as we continue to work together to advance the cause and fulfil the promise of Nigeria. I will miss all of you, and I will miss this House. I want you to rest assured that wherever the road takes me, I will carry you all in my heart fondly because you have enriched my life in ways words alone cannot fully express.

24. Nigeria is an unfinished story, a long tale of promise and peril, and our final chapters have not been written yet. Some persist in believing that this grand nation is a victim of history, that our destiny has already long been written, and that we cannot escape from it. I do not subscribe to this view. In fact, I reject it entirely. Indeed the world today is being remade by profound and powerful forces, and it may seem our destiny no longer lies within our control. But we are a proud and resilient people with a limitless capacity for excellence. All that we hope to be, we can. All that we desire is within reach. Our greatest successes as a nation will come when we work together across party lines, without considering differences of tribe and tongue, religion and creed towards the shared goals of our nationhood – peace and prosperity, equity and justice for all.

25. As we bring this 9th House of Representatives to a close, I am proud to say that by our joint effort at nation-building, we have ensured that the cause of Nigeria will long endure and the dreams of our nation’s founding fathers will not die. We came, we saw, and while there is much yet to conquer, we have done our duty to God and country. I came to this honourable House twenty years ago, filled with hope for our nation’s future. I leave this office today with hope unbroken, and my enthusiasm to serve remains undiminished. I am more confident that our best days are ahead and that we can build a future where our nation is a beacon of excellence, a refuge and a place of pride for all who salute our flag and swear allegiance to our constitution. This is a future worth fighting for; this is the future I will never stop fighting for.

26. Thank you, goodbye, God bless you, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Full Text Of Gbajabiamila’s Valedictory Speech As Reps Speaker

Gbajabiamila, who has been in the House for 20 years, took time to list the achievements of the 9th Assembly.

By Donatus Anichukwueze
Updated June 7, 2023

The Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, delivered his valedictory speech at the green chamber on Wednesday.

Last Friday, Gbajabiamila, who has represented Surulere 1 Federal Constituency since 2003, was appointed as the Chief of Staff by President Bola Tinubu. He is expected to resume in his new position when his tenure as Speaker ends by mid-June.

See the full text of the Speaker’s speech below:

VALEDICTORY SPEECH TO THE 9TH HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES BY REP. FEMI GBAJABIAMILA, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (2019 – 2023). WEDNESDAY, 7TH JUNE 2023.

PROTOCOLS

Honourable colleagues, fellow Nigerians:

1. I thank God almighty, by whose grace and mercy we have gathered here once more in the people’s House to do our duty even as our time in the 9th House of Representatives comes to an end.

2. This will be the last time I address you from this dais as the Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives. It has been the honour of my life to serve our beloved country from this honourable House. I am profoundly grateful to the people of Surulere 1 Federal Constituency for allowing me to represent them for the last twenty years. And I am grateful to you, my dear colleagues, for the honour and privilege of serving as Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives for the last four years. All glory belongs to the almighty God, who ordains our destinies and guides our path.

3. In the years since I first stepped into this hallowed chamber, the House of Representatives has changed profoundly, just as our country has changed too. Yet, in all that time, I have not witnessed change on a scale and with such speed as has been the case in the last four years. We have lived through a global pandemic that nobody anywhere saw coming. We have governed at a time of global crises and relentless transformations to the global economy. We have seen our nation’s politics come of age with a new generation of young people determined to have a seat at the table and prepared to fight for it, whatever the cost. Just in the last few days, we have seen the end of a subsidy regime that has distorted the energy market in our country for over thirty years.

4. When change happens at this scale and with such an unrelenting pace, it creates challenges and opportunities almost in equal measure. Over the last four years, this House of Representatives has worked to ensure that our country can overcome these challenges and take advantage of the moment to achieve economic, social, and political transformations that benefit all the Nigerian people. We elevated the debates in the House of Representatives and made this chamber the arena for informed exchanges about Nigeria’s future and the welfare of all our nation’s people. We have left our mark in every sector of our national life and positively impacted people’s lives across our country.

5. We introduced discipline into the appropriations process by implementing a January to December budget cycle that ended the policy instability and economic uncertainty of the previous irregular budget cycles. We reformed the oversight process to ensure greater collaboration between the arms of government. We made it easier for citizens to access details of budget expenditures so that they, too, can be part of the process of ensuring accountability in the administration of public funds. We did not yield our constitutional obligation to ensure faithful compliance with the letter and spirit of the Appropriation Act by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the government.

6. While the strategic importance of the oil and gas sector to Nigeria’s socioeconomic well-being has long been apparent, successive administrations failed to put in place a functional statutory regime to allow that sector to function optimally. We ended that legacy of lethargy with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). With the Deep Offshore and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contracts Act, we went even further to put the sector on the right footing. These statutory reforms rightfully ought to have happened a long time ago. Now, we must ensure that the reforms contained in these Acts are dutifully implemented as part of a broader energy policy suited to the realities of technological advancements and the evolving demands of the global energy market.

7. We passed the Police Act to change the nature of relations between the police and citizens in our country and ensure that police officers who fall short of their responsibilities can be quickly held accountable. The Act expressly prohibits police officers from arresting citizens for civil wrongs, imposes an obligation on the police to inform citizens of their rights at the point of arrest, and mandates the police to ensure that persons arrested have access to their families and legal representation. In addition, the Act established the Police Complaints Units as a statutory organ accessible to the public to report police misconduct and empowered to initiate action when such reports are received.

8. These reforms did not end police misbehaviour in our country; soon enough, there was a national reckoning. We responded by working with the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to establish a new framework of accountability to hold erring members of the Police Force to account for their conduct in the performance of their duties and compel the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) to take responsibility for the failures of training and discipline that leads to such wrongful conduct. And we appropriated the sum of Five Hundred Million Naira through the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to compensate victims of police brutality nationwide. I sincerely hope that the work of police reform will continue in the House of Representatives until we achieve a system of policing that meets our nation’s needs and reflects the best of us.

9. When in March 2020, the covid-19 virus entered our shores, we became bound with the world in experiencing a tragic disruption to our economic, political, and social lives, unlike anything we have ever witnessed. This House of Representatives responded by taking active measures to protect the Nigerian people, including those who work here in the National Assembly. We passed the Emergency Economic Stimulus Bill to grant companies a rebate on Companies Income Tax, suspend import duties on medicines, medical equipment, personal protective equipment, and other essential medical materials and defer mortgage obligations on residential mortgages by contributors to the National Housing Fund.

10. We also passed the Emergency Relief and Assistance Bill to provide a limited salary guarantee for low-income permanent employees of companies registered and operating in Nigeria, relieve legal consumers of electricity in Nigeria of the burden of electricity charges for a limited period and suspend for a fixed period, the implementation of the Value Added Tax (VAT) provisions of the Finance Act 2020. Whilst these legislations did not pass in the Senate and never became law, they provided the framework for the federal government’s policy response to the pandemic, as the policy ideas contained therein were adopted and variously implemented through executive orders and subsequent legislations.

11. We worked to establish, under emergency conditions, a fully functioning care facility in the Federal Capital Territory under the management of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). We intervened to prevent potentially devastating strike action by doctors and ensure that the medical professionals at the fore of our response to the pandemic were remunerated correctly and provided the allowances due to them. We reviewed the statutory framework for managing infectious disease outbreaks and proposed the Infectious Disease Bill to reform an area of our laws that hadn’t been examined for a century. In an act of service for which I remain proud and thankful, members of this House volunteered their salaries to the covid relief fund to support the needs of the most vulnerable in our society.

12. The legislative legacy of the 9th House of Representatives includes the Companies and Allied Matters Act and the Nigeria Start-Up Act, two critical legislations aimed at changing the way we do business in Nigeria by streamlining regulations, reducing red tape, and setting the conditions for the private sector to innovate, thrive and grow. Our legacy also includes the comprehensive electoral reforms in the Electoral Act that have changed forever for good the way we conduct elections in Nigeria. While we recognise the need to continue to work to improve election management in Nigeria, we must acknowledge the vast improvements that have happened since the return to democracy. And we take pride in our contribution to these improvements over the last four years.

13. Through the constitutional review process, the House of Representatives sought to restructure our government to make it more effective, reorganise our politics to make it more inclusive, enshrine efficient mechanisms for holding the institutions of state to account and put an end to the debilitating conflicts that even now continue to tear our nation apart. We made an audacious attempt to create a constitution that addresses once and for all the fundamental issues that distract from nation-building. The constitutional amendments we enacted devolved power and responsibilities over critical areas of our national life in an effort to spur innovation and healthy competition at the subnational level. By our joint effort, we achieved financial independence for state houses of assembly and state judiciary, granting greater autonomy to these arms of government in line with democratic best practice.

14. To succeed in our shared ambition of building a prosperous and peaceful country, we must do everything within our power to ensure that our daughters and those yet to be born can grow up in a more open, more equal society than their mothers did. Unfortunately, we did not succeed in removing some of the constitutional barriers that have long stood in the way of women’s full and unhindered participation in the politics, governance and economy of our nation. This issue must continue to be at the fore of our national conversations. I hope the 10th House of Representatives will take up the mantle and do better than we did.

15. Beyond legislative interventions, the 9th House of Representatives will be remembered for our efforts to change how we do the business of parliament, most notably for introducing information technology tools through the e-parliament project and establishing the National Assembly Library Trust Fund. The National Assembly Library Trust Fund will ensure that the National Assembly is operationally suited to meet the needs of the Nigerian people by providing modern library and research infrastructure, training and capacity development for legislators and aides and operating as a resource centre for the legislature, and all who have any interest in legislative endeavours.

16. This 9th House, with unwavering courage and determination, defended the rights and dignity of the Nigerian people abroad from every attempt to dehumanise and victimise our people. Our interventions on behalf of Nigerians in China during the pandemic put an end to recurrent incidents of abuse, just as our efforts on behalf of Nigerians in South Africa and Ghana caused the governments of those nations to step up action to protect the lives and property of our citizens in those countries. From Ghana to South Africa, from China to the United States of America, we made it clear that this parliament will defend the rights of our citizens to conduct their legitimate businesses without fear of molestation and that the wellbeing of Nigerians remains our business whether home or abroad. This model of parliamentary diplomacy has become a legitimate tool for back-channel interventions to resolve conflicts involving our citizens around the world. It is an approach that ought to be sustained and improved.

17. We convened a Summit on National Security to examine our national security and defence infrastructure and identify critical areas of improvement. I hope that work to ensure our borders are secure and our people are safe will continue in the next assembly and throughout government. Through the Conference of Speakers and Heads of African Parliaments (CoSAP), we have initiated a new and promising framework for interparliamentary cooperation across the continent to address our shared challenges and build better networks for collaboration, progress, and prosperity. This effort should continue in the best interests of our country and continent.

18. Honourable colleagues, despite the considerable investments we have made to improve our public infrastructure and the numerous reforms we have enacted to change how we administer the government, our country faces many significant challenges. These challenges have caused many of our fellow citizens to wonder if the promise of democracy will ever become real in their lives. Too many of our young people have lost faith entirely and are choosing in droves to seek their fortunes and their futures in other lands. We are losing some of our best and brightest, and if we don’t act now, the consequences of this loss will shortly become painfully evident.

19. How do we ensure a healthy, vigorous, growing economy that provides opportunities for all who work hard to succeed through their labour and ingenuity? How do we protect our people from the marauders and insurgents, the petty criminals and assorted villains who wish to harm them, whether for profit or in service of other agendas? How do we restore faith in our young people so that so many of them no longer feel like the only way to achieve their best aspirations is to chase their fortunes in far away, often hostile lands? These are the critical questions all of us in government must answer or risk the unforgiving judgment of history. With each new day, we have an opportunity to make the hard choices and take the necessary actions to guarantee our nation’s future. With each new day, we have less time to act and a more outstanding obligation to act quickly.