– Yakubu Dogara, the speaker of the House of Representatives, describes the legislature as the true face of democracy
– Dogara notes that an effective legislature that holds the executive to account, especially in developing countries, is crucial to improving democracy
– The speaker says the National Assembly through lawmaking has contributed to stimulating economic growth and prompting competition in Nigeria
The speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has said the National Assembly has prevented the collapse of governance in Nigeria by serving as the stabilising force through checking the executive misuse and abuse of power.
Dogara made the statement when delivering a speech on at the convocation ceremony of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), University of Benin post graduate programmes, which held at the National Assembly, Leadership reports.
speaker described the legislature as the true face of democracy in maturing democracies such as Nigeria, where it ensures to check executive abuse of powers which often occurs in the country.
“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,” Dogara said.
“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.”
He stated that an effective legislature that holds the executive to account, especially in developing countries, was crucial to improving democracy.
Dogara said the National Assembly through lawmaking had contributed to stimulating economic growth and prompting competition in Nigeria.
“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,” the speaker said.
“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”
In other news, Ishaq Hadejia, a chieftain of All Progressives People Congress (APC) in Jigawa state, has asked the minister of water resources, Suleiman Adamu to resign his appointment as minister with immediate effect.
Hadejia stated this when speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Monday, October 22.
He alleged that Adamu has not been coming for political meetings or activities in the state because he said that he is not a politician.
