Senate President Godswill Akpabio has said in just 24 years, Nigeria achieved a feat that took up to 185 years for the United States of America.
In his address to the joint National Assembly during the presentation of the N27.5 trillion budget presentation by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, Akpabio said while Nigeria produced former senators as President and Vice President in its 24th year as a democratic nation, America achieved that after over one and half century.
In 1992, Tinubu was elected to the Senate to represent Lagos West constituency in the short-lived Third Republic, while Vice-President Kashim Shettima became a senator in 2019.
In the US, President John F Kennedy and Vice-President Lyndon B Johnson found their way to the White House when the US democracy marked its 185th anniversary.
While welcoming and showering encomiums on Tinubu, the Senate President said, “It is said that no matter how an eagle flies, its Stallions keep pointing to the earth. Mr President, we know no matter how high you rise in life, your heart will always point to this Assembly.
“Mr President, the United States of America has started democracy for about 247 years. But it was only when it marked its 185th anniversary that it succeeded in producing two former senators John F Kennedy and Lyndon B Johnson as president and vice president respectively.
“But within 24 years of our democracy, we have achieved what took the United States of America 185 years to achieve.”
Akpabio also said aside from Tinubu and Shettima who had served as senators, there were other former federal lawmakers occupying public offices.
“Not only do we have two former distinguished senators serving as president and vice president of our dear country, but we also have other alumni of this National Assembly in positions of public trust,” he added.