By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr Tajudeen Abbas, has said the National Assembly is concerned about the spate of abandoned projects nationwide and has started putting in place a legal framework to tackle the scourge.
Abbas stated this yesterday in Abuja at the Third Graduation Ceremony for Higher National Diploma (HND) graduates organized by the National Institute for Democratic and Legislative Institute (NILDS).
He said, “On the flip side of our responsibilities as parliamentarians, we are concerned about the abandonment of numerous projects whose completion would have added to the much-desired dividend of democracy and consolidation of good governance in Nigeria.
“As members of the 10th National Assembly, we are committed to putting in place a legal framework that enables adequate budget preparation, enactment, implementation, and oversight.
“We, therefore, encourage MDAs to ensure that the projects and programmes are informed by bottom-up consultation. This will ensure that projects and programmes budgeted for reflect the needs of the sector MDAs have jurisdiction over.”
President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio, who was represented on the floor by his deputy, Senator Jibrin Barau, said that despite challenges in the nation’s education sector, the country is still doing well in global rankings.
Akpabio said, “Despite the lingering challenges in the nation’s educational sector, data shows that Nigeria has recorded better performance in its Human Development Index in the UNDP 2024 report than in 2019.”
The Senate President, who his deputy, Senator Jibrin Barau, represented, pledged that the 10th National Assembly has put machinery in motion to ensure proper funding in the sector through appropriation in the next fiscal year.
He said, “Supporting the educational sector through increased funding will enable our country to record significant transformational changes. That is why the 10th Senate has continued to support policies such as the student loan programme and to take other initiatives toward addressing out-of-school children.
“These initiatives are very dear to the President and Commander in Chief, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and thus require the support of all stakeholders.”
Akpabio stressed the need to support legislative and democratic institutions to deepen civil rule in the country.
He said, “As the Chairman of the NILDS Governing Council, I will ensure that my team continues to support NILDS in fulfilling its role as the nation’s only statutory institute with a mandate for legislative and democratic engagements.
“The National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) has continued to set the pace with excellent performance as the research and capacity-building institution for the legislature and other democratic institutions in Nigeria.”
The Director-General of NILDS, Prof Abubakar Suleiman, said the academic programmes offered by NILDS in collaboration with its partners are helping to close the knowledge gap and capacity needs in the nation’s governance sector.
He also said parliaments across Africa and beyond are also seizing the opportunity NILDS offers to enhance their knowledge in specific areas of legislative and democratic governance.
Former President of the 8th Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the 8th House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, were among other awardees to be named Fellows of the NILDS.
