
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said
that the National Assembly has saved the country from collapsing.
Dogara pointed out that In order to attain stable, strong and
effective governance in Nigeria, the National Assembly must receive
priority attention in terms of capacity building.
He made this known while delivering an address on the topic,
“Parliamentary Institution Building in Africa”, at the convocation
ceremony of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic
Studies (NILDS)/University of Benin Post Graduate Programmes for the
2015/2016 and 2016/2017 Academic sessions, which held at the National
Assembly.
The speaker explained that because the legislature is the true face
of democracy, especially in maturing democracies such as that of
Nigeria, where it serves as the stabilising force with robust
constitutional powers to check-mate the Executive misuse and abuse of
power which occasionally rears its head.
Making a case for strengthening institutions to produce good
governance, Hon Dogara added that the imperative of building healthy and
strong institutions, like the legislature, in place of strong
personalities, has been the bane of the democratic experience in
Nigeria.
Going further, he stated, “Time has come to reverse this trend in
order to achieve the goals of a robust and sustainable economic, social
and political development, not only in Nigeria but in Africa as a whole.
“It is our considered opinion that if there is any institution of
government that should receive priority attention in terms of capacity
building, it is the Legislature.
“This is because the Legislature is the true face of democracy. In
our maturing democracy in this country, the Legislature is the
stabilising force as it has robust constitutional powers to check-mate
the Executive misuse and abuse of power which occasionally rears its
head.
“Credit must be given to the Nigerian Parliament, which has continued
to make Laws, perform its representative functions and make robust use
of the power of oversight in order to preserve our hard-won democracy
and achieve good governance.”
Speaking on efforts made in the last two decades by the legislature
to provide better governance in Nigeria, he said the National Assembly,
among other things, has set unprecedented record in the area of
lawmaking, which has translated to stimulating economic growth and
promoting competition.
“What is expected of modern legislatures goes beyond the traditional
role of representation, law-making and oversight. The legislature in
Nigeria must serve a greater purpose within wider national
democratisation processes.
“Over the last two decades, the National Assembly has transitioned
from being the weaker institution to becoming a strong and capable agent
of change.
“Our activism in the area of law-making is attested to by the
unprecedented record we have set in the area of law-making. Some of
these laws are specifically designed to stimulate economic growth and
promote competition.
“We have also successfully intervened in crises situations to save the country from avoidable collapse.”
-Daily Post
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