The Clerk to the National Assembly, Ojo Olatunde Amos, has said that paucity of funds remains a major challenge crippling the abilities of Nigerian lawmakers to discharge their responsibilities more efficiently and effectively.
Speaking at the opening of a 3-day capacity building workshop for staff of the Senate, the Clerk, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Human Resources, Biodun Oladoyin, lamented the dearth of funds needed by the various committees of the National Assembly for effective oversight of various Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, MDAs.
According to the Clerk, the funds available to the National Assembly especially for oversight are still a far cry from global best practices.
He said National Assembly Committees do not have their own operational vehicles for assignments and well-equppied secretariats to carry out their activities.
The capacity-building workshop was organized by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, NILDS.
Declaring the workshop opened, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, who was represented by the Senate Minority Whip, Philip Aduda, corroborated the concerns raised about insufficient funds by the Clerk.
He, however, welcomed the capacity-building workshop, stressing that it will go a long way to enhance parliamentary service delivery.
In his welcome address, Director-General, NILDS, Prof. Abubarkar Sulaiman, noted effective parliament has the capacity to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy, increase accountability and reduce corruption in the system.
He, however, noted that the ability of the legislature to deliver on its mandate of lawmaking and effective oversight will depend on the quality of its backroom staff, which he said explained the workshop by his agency.
The workshop is the latest in the series of similar pieces of training organized by the NILDS, which is aimed at enhancing the capacity of parliamentary staff and legislative aides at both the National and States Assembly levels.
