Legislative capacity of over 200 lawmakers is expected to be upscaled and strengthened.
The House of Representatives is set to hold a one-day retreat for Chairpersons and Deputies of its various Standing Committees.
The retreat is scheduled to be held on Monday, November 27, 2023, at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja.
Themed: “Improving Legislative Performance through Effective Committee Management”, the retreat underscores the commitment of the Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen-led House to follow through on the mission of its recently unveiled Legislative Agenda.
Recall that the House on November 14, unveiled its eight-point Legislative Agenda for the Tenth Assembly.
A statement by the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Rep Akin Rotimi Jr, Sunday evening, revealed that the retreat will touch on topics like “International Good Practice in Committee Management, Benchmarks in Conducting Legislative Hearings and Investigations as well as an overview of Legislative Practice & Procedures, among others.”
Rep. Rotimi restated the House’s commitment to the “Continuous improvement in the National Assembly’s delivery processes as a catalyst for better governance, increased public trust, and more meaningful representation. Thus, the retreat of Committee Chairpersons and Deputies is in line with its avowed priority of strengthening institutional and legislative capacity.”
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Further, the lawmaker noted“This is beyond just having an activity or a talk shop. As clearly stated in our Agenda, for the Green Chamber to creditably discharge its functions, institutional and human resource capacity must be significantly upscaled and strengthened. Additionally, a reality we have identified as the ‘People’s House’ is that putting in place a well-functioning institution is an important precondition for achieving all the other strategic priorities under our Legislative Agenda.
“In light of this, I can tell you that very many of my colleagues who chair the various Committees of the House, as well as their Deputies, are upbeat about this retreat happening barely two weeks after we unveiled the Agenda.”
According to him, the Agenda, which has the mission of “promoting professionalism and best legislative practices in professionalism and best legislative practices in lawmaking, oversight, and representation,” has since its unveiling, been the guiding philosophy of the Assembly in the discharge of its constitutional mandate.
“In the words of Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen PhD, Speaker of the House of Representatives, “There is no better way to show that the 10th House of Representatives is ready to respond, and urgently too, to the yearnings of those who brought us to the people’s House to do the people’s business,” Rotimi stated.
