PROTOCOL. 1.I thank the Chairman and members of the Joint Senate Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary) and Health for inviting me to declare open this very important Public Hearing, which focuses on the Poor Living Conditions in Queens College, Lagos, and the Deaths of Three Students resulting therefrom. 2.It is reassuring to see that this Public Hearing is eventually taking place in spite of the long drawn out challenges that had delayed the early meeting of relevant stakeholders on the matter. 3.The sad and unfortunate events

PROTOCOL. 1.Distinguished colleagues, it is a privilege and an honour to welcome you all back to work as we embark on the legislative endeavour that will define our country in the year 2018. 2.Let me take this opportunity to wish you – my distinguished colleagues, your families and all Nigerians - a happy new year. I am not unmindful of the sobering fact that the new year has met many citizens in a reflective mood. Many were on the queue for petrol; many households are grief-stricken.

PROTOCOL. 1.It is my honour to be at this auspicious gathering, to witness and celebrate a new milestone in the career of a true icon and professional in his field, by way of the Inauguration of Engr. Adekunle Mokuolu, FNSE, as the 31st President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE). Indeed, the Nigerian Society of Engineers makes an invaluable contribution to the creation and implementation of policies guiding the development of rural and urban projects in Nigeria - as well as nurturing experts to

PROTOCOL. 1.It gives me great pleasure to join His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, distinguished dignitaries and all esteemed guests on this splendid occasion, made even more significant by the fact that it is holding just days into the new year. 2.We take much encouragement from today’s Flag-Off and Commissioning of additional Locomotives and Coaches for the Abuja–Kaduna Train Service and the Commissioning of the Inland Dry Port Kaduna. Taken together, these two milestones represent a major step forward in our multi-directional drive to open up

PROTOCOL. 1. I want to begin on a note of gratitude to Almighty God for allowing us to see another edition of the renowned Ojude Oba Festival. Once upon a time in Ijebuland, this occasion would have been the most significant marker of the passing year. It is, therefore, a joyous thing to witness the 2018 Annual Ojude Oba Festival and its display of bounteous blessings. 2. I congratulate most heartily the Kabiyesi Alaiyeluwa, Oba (Dr.) S. K. Adetona, CFR, Ogbagba II, Awujale and Paramount Ruler of Ijebuland

PROTOCOL. 1.It is indeed a pleasure to be here today on the invitation of the Embassy of the Republic of Burundi in Nigeria for the Greatwaves Convention & Award (TGWACA), which, I am told, is the anniversary brand of DESTINATION AFRICA – Network for Peace and Sustainable Development. I thank His Excellency, Ambassador Emmanuel Mpfayokurera, the distinguished Ambassador of Burundi to Nigeria, for the kind invitation extended to me. 2.It is always a delight to identify with the work of an impactful organisation such as DESTINATION

PROTOCOL. 1.It gives me great pleasure to be a Special Guest at this public presentation of notable new books authored by the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, namely: ‘Forms and Precedents in Petroleum Law, Volumes I, II and III’; ‘Environmental Law and the Niger Delta Imperatives’; and ‘Rethinking Gas – A Directional Roadmap to Nigeria’s Gas Law and Policy Development’. 2.The titles of these books have really piqued interest as a lawmaker. I look forward to diving into the pages and

PROTOCOL. 1.It gives me great pleasure to be at this august occasion, which is the Flag Off of the 341 Unit Housing Estate for State House Nurses and other State House Staff, here in Dagbadna Village Karu. I thank the Chairman of the State House Nurses Cooperative Housing Estate Society Ltd, Mrs. Selina Akunna Enyioha, for my invitation to this very important event. 2.It is quite heartening to note that the foundation laying ceremony is being performed by the Wife of the President, Her Excellency, Mrs.

PROTOCOL. 1.It gives me great pleasure to be inaugurating the Ad-Hoc Committee on Investigation of Local Content Elements on the Egina Oil Field. I welcome all the distinguished members to this important event, which should beam a searchlight on the Egina Oil Field development, and assist us in our quest to unravel what may have gone awry in the local content component of the project. 2.Earlier this month – 5th December to be precise – the 8th Senate deliberated on a motion on the local content

PROTOCOL. A warm welcome to my Distinguished Colleagues, dignitaries, our international partners, speakers, invited guests and indeed all who have joined us at this Senate Roundtable on the Drug Use Crisis in Nigeria. We are here to wake the nation to the insidious threat of drug abuse, which has, for too long, been the unacknowledged enemy within for us as Nigerians. The time has come to look that enemy in the face and say – Enough. And by your standing up to be counted at