Lawan made this known in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mohammed Isa, when addressing a group, Women Parliamentarians, led by Sen. Joy Emordi in Abuja.

He noted that his belief in President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision and that of the All Progressives Congress (APC) should not be misconstrued as not independent-minded.

He said: “During my campaign, I was called a potential rubber stamp Senate President to the executive; maybe because I am close to the President, or because I believe in his cause.

“There is no time that I will ever be a rubber stamp. Yes, I believe in President Buhari as a person and I believe in my party, the APC, but I believe that our problems as Nigerians are Nigerian problems.

“They are neither APC nor PDP problems, they are Nigerian problems, that require Nigerian solution. So, we have to work together.

“We will be there for the executive arm of government all the time in moving this country forward.

“We are going to challenge the executive in a manner that is decent but decisive.

“As a Minister, you have to do your ministerial job well. We will make government appointees to do what is required of them.

“We have to deal with the issues confronting us. It is not going to be easy, but we have to build a relationship that have mutual respect, collaboration and partnership. It is achievable.

“We are not here for self-serving. We came here with a lot of experiences to impact positively in our country. We are here and we will remain focus to make this government work.”

He used the occasion to charge Nigerian women to be more involved in politics.

“The political space in the country is wide enough to accommodate our women, but the ball is in their court to take the advantages,” he said.

Sen. Emordi congratulated the Presiding Officers and the leadership of the 9th Senate for what she described as smooth transition.

He urged them to use their expertise to better the lots of Nigerians.

Emordi said the group was formed to give support where necessary to serving women in the parliament.

“It is our objective to promote cordial relationship between the executive and legislature, and remove the boundaries on women participation in politics for good governance,” she said.