A Bill to amend the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) Act, broaden its scope and functions, has passed second reading in the House of Representatives.
The bill which sought to add more value to Nigeria’s foreign missions was sponsored by Rep. Yakub Buba (APC-Adamawa) at plenary on Thursday in Abuja.
Buba said the bill also sought to provide powers for the institute to conduct courses of instruction and learning and create an academic board to award Postgraduate Diploma and Masters Degrees in International Relations, Diplomatic Practices among others.
Buba recalled that the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs was established in 1961, to provide a platform of ideas on what direction Nigeria should follow on international policies.
The lawmaker said that considering the fact that the Act had spanned over 50 years, it was long overdue for amendment so as to add the application of modern days foreign policies.
“In section 2 of the Principle Act, the objects of the institute were increased by adding additional six objects to the existing three, to make the institute more sustainable and effective in the discharge of its duties.
“ln section 3, the functions of the institute were also increased by adding more responsibilities for it to perform more efficiently by facilitating training and retraining of foreign service personnel to enable them develop capacity to represent Nigeria in such critical areas.
“Areas such as diplomacy, trade, investment, security and other issues, thereby strengthening her foreign policy for increased output and reciprocal gains in line with Nigeria’s Foreign Policy objectives, as stipulated in section 19 of the 1999 Constitution as amended among others,’’ he said.
In his ruling, the Deputy Speaker of the house, Rep. Ahmed Wase referred the bill to the Committee on Foreign Affairs for further legislative actions. (NAN)