Dogara counsels state lawmakers on effective legislation

SPEAKER of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has called on the state Houses of Assembly to be proactive and more assertive in the discharge of their core functional mandate of good governance, through law making, representation and oversight responsibilities.

He gave the charge at the opening ceremony of a one-day consultative meeting of speakers of the 36 state assemblies with the House of Representatives Committee on Inter-parliamentary Relations in Abuja.

Represented by his deputy, Sulaimaon Lasun Yussuff, Dogara noted that the theme, “Building Synergy for Greater Effectiveness,” was not only timely and apt, but would significantly improve the functionality of both state legislatures and the National Assembly.

While recalling the role played by the legislature in averting a possible power vacuum in 2010 by invoking the “doctrine of necessity” which paved way for the then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to assume the position of acting President and thereafter, President, as well as the role it played in effectively managing the political tension created by the “third term” or tenure elongation ambition of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2007, the Speaker noted that the parliament had remained an epitome of good governance and the most critical institution in defining, defending and consolidating the centrality of Nigeria’s democracy.

He bemoaned the insufficient understanding of legislative practices and procedures among legislators at the state level as well as inadequate funding.

In her remark, the Director General, National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS), Dr. Ladi Hamalai, charged NASS leadership to optimise the utilisation of parliamentary research units to enhance their effectiveness while calling for the restructuring of the Sergeant-at-Arm model against the backdrop of the security challenges facing the nation.

In his presentation, the Chairman House Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Committee, Hon. Sam Ikon, said the federal and state legislatures have a shared constitutional mandate to make laws for peace, order and good governance.