TVC N. Senator Gershom Bassey, who represents the Southern Senatorial district of Cross River State, weekend, said the priority of the Senate and the Presidency was how to take the country out of the current recession in the first quarter of this year.
The senator noted that the initial bad blood and suspicion that existed between the Senate and Presidency had given way to improved working relationship between the executive and legislative arms.
Senator Bassey who spoke in Calabar while interacting with thousands of members of his constituency who visited him, said: “At the beginning some individuals in the Presidency and the Senate were going beyond their roles, maybe, because they did not understand their roles. So, there were lots of suspicion, having just come out of a general election.
But today, everybody understands his role, whether in the executive or legislature. So, there is better understanding and collaboration as seen when the President presented the 2017 budget where he received a standing ovation.”
He went further to say: “Senate is working very hard to ensure that our beloved country comes out of recession by the first quarter of 2017. We have about 11 bills that we are working on in the Senate beginning from the Petroleum Industry Bill of along with others directly focusing on improving the economic situation in the country.”
