Lawmakers, NILDS on the importance of House Standing Committees in democracy

Daniel Adeleye, who attended the recently concluded two-day retreat, organised for Chairmen of Standing Committees of the House of Representatives, by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), reports that the lawmakers have expressed resolve to ensure greater delivery of dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

Last week’s two-day retreat for Chairmen of Standing Committees of the House of Representatives, organised in Lagos by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), harped on the importance of the committees effective delivery of the dividends of democracy.

Acknowledging this fact at the retreat, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, assured Nigerians the House will promptly work on the much awaited Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB).

The Speaker explained that both the constitution review and the PIGB are part of the bills that the House would prioritise next year, saying the House would leave no stone unturned to give Nigerians the best in terms of making laws that would promote peace and good governance in the country.

Responding to the earlier observation made by the Lagos State governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on female representation, the Speaker revealed that there is no woman in the House of Representatives that is not either committee chairperson or deputy.

Gbajabiamila tasked the chairmen of the committees to work with their deputies and other members of the committees as a team, adding that Nigerians are expecting much from their elected representatives.

The Speaker expressed joy that the sum of N2 billion was approved in the 2020 budget by the National Assembly for the takeoff of a legislative library.

He opined that the legislature being the conscience of a nation, there is a need for a befitting library, while it is the responsibility of the executive to implement programmes and execute projects.

The Speaker who also commended the lawmakers for their commitment to the passage of the 2020 budget, which he said would bring the budget cycle to January to December, said “we have been elected at a time of great upheaval at home and abroad. We are confronted with great peril; oil prices have fallen and refuse to go back up, our population growth continues to outpace economic growth, we are besieged on all sides by rising insecurity and its consequences.

“The standing Committees you each lead are the principal instruments of legislation and oversight, whatever we are, whatever we will achieve, and everything we will be remembered for in this House of Representatives depends on how well your Committees function and how effectively you serve as leaders of those Committees”

On his own, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-olu, commended the 9th National Assembly for passing the 2020 Budget proposal within a short period of time to enable Nigeria achieve January to December budget cycle, first of its kind since the country was returned to democratic rule in 1999.

The governor described the seminar put together by NILDS as a welcome idea, saying governance is all about continuous learning to improve decision making abilities.

Sanwo-Olu tasked the lawmakers as elected representatives to continually seek to reinvent the process of legislation through engagement and relationship with electorates, whose mandate they uphold.

“As legislators and committee chairpersons, you occupy privileged positions of authority and influence, the decisions you take in the course of your duties will affect the lives of multitudes of Nigerians”

“I hope and expect that there will be more of this kind of learning and performance review seminars in the course of the 9th Assembly,” he said.

While welcoming the lawmakers to the event earlier, the former Minister of Budget and National Planning, who is also the Director-General of NILDS, Prof Suleiman Abubakar, described legislative arm of government as “the epitome and fulcrum of any democratic government.”

He noted that for parliament to discharge its responsibilities, the importance of standing committees cannot be over-emphasised, adding that standing committee improves efficiency, effective conduct and oversight of the executive.

The DG explained that NILDS, since 1999, has regularly studied the performance of National Assembly standing committees to determine their output and contributions to democratic governance.

Abubakar observed that despite the successes of the committees, lack of technical expertise among the standing committee, insufficient funding, poor record keeping and documentation, poor quality of reports, poor attendance at committee meetings, proliferation of committees and many others have been clogs in the wheels of their activities, the difficulties, according to the DG, are being well documented in the minutes assessment of the National Assembly conducted by the institute in 2015.

“As elected representatives of the people, Nigerians look up to you as the arm of government closest to them. They expect you to make laws that will improve their lives and bring about development to them, and oversee the affairs of the executive,” he stated.

Also speaking, a former deputy Senate leader and former Senate Committee Chairman on Media, Senator Jonathan Zwingina, noted that standing committee is the engine room of Representatives.

The 5th Assembly Senator said the performance of the Speaker will be judged by how effectively he supports the committees to carry out their legislative duties.

Zwingina advocates for effective secretariat, adequate finance and the Speaker’s attention for the success of the committees.

Other dignitaries at the event include; Senator Oluremi Tinubu, represented by the former Chairperson of Eti-Osa Local Government Area, Princess Elegushi.

Former Speaker of House of representatives, Ghali Na’abba, commended NILDS for its tradition of capacity development and outstanding record of providing legislative support services.