By Angela Atabo/Eric Ochigbo
Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has called on lawmakers to have functional constituency offices for continuous interaction with citizens and promotion of representative democracy.
Abbas made the call on Monday in Abuja at a Stakeholders Town Hall Meeting on the 10th House of Representatives Legislative Agenda.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the meeting was organised by the Ad-Hoc Committee on the Legislative Agenda in collaboration with Policy Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC).
According to the Speaker, “citizens engagement is the fulcrum of a representative democracy.
“This requires lawmakers to have functional constituency offices for regular interaction with our constituents.
“It is only through such engagements that legislators will become the true representatives of the people; to do otherwise, will amount to a democracy without the people.
He assured, “the House will pay priority attention to participatory budgeting process and delivery, law reform, electoral reform, women participation and inclusion in governance, improved socio-economic conditions, entrepreneurship, employment, health and education among others.
“Our desire is to have a legislative agenda that meets the yearnings and aspirations of citizens and with which they would use as a benchmark to evaluate and assess our performance after four years’’.
Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, House Leader and Chairman of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Legislative Agenda, said that the event was organised to build a comprehensive blueprint and drive progress, prosperity, and inclusivity across the nation.
“We envision a Nigeria where the economy is robust and diversified, infrastructure is world-class, education is transformative, healthcare is accessible to all and governance is transparent and accountable.
“This vision transcends partisan lines and it is the collective aspiration of every Nigerian,’’ he said.
According to Ihonvbere, the goal of the Legislative Agenda is to turn the vision into reality, through six key pillars that will serve as the foundation for the legislative agenda.
He called on every member of the House of Representatives, those in the Senate, and all stakeholders across the nation to rally behind this Agenda.
“Let us rise above politics and work together to enact the necessary laws and policies that will transform our nation,’’ he said
The Executive Director of PLAC, Dr Clement Nwankwo expressed concern over the low representation of women in governance.
“The number of women in the National Assembly has continued to decrease; this is completely unacceptable.
“The hope we have is that, this time, the National Assembly will be able to take these as a major legislative item and ensure that the issue is address in its next step on constitution review,’’ Nwankwo said.
Nwankwo said that citizens were going through hard times and urged the 10th Assembly to put the challenge into consideration when formulating its legislative agenda.
According to him, the National Assembly has a role to play in ensuring affordable means and cost of livelihood. (NAN)
