By Adeyinka Adeniran
The Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, has called for collaboration with strategic partners to support the implementation and adoption of E-parliament in State Assemblies across the country.
Ogundoyin spoke while delivering a keynote address at a day reflection session organised by the Conference in collaboration with its strategic partners – Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn, PERL and Engaged Citizens Pillar, ECP.
He emphasized the need for a unified digital platform to streamline legislative activities, improve data management, and facilitate communication among legislators, committees, and stakeholders.
According to Ogundoyin, E-parliament will enhance transparency and accountability, improve citizen engagement and participation, streamline legislative processes, increase access to legislative information and better decision-making through data analysis and research.
He said, “I would like to leverage on the expertise and resources of PERL and other partners to ensure our State Assemblies embrace E-parliament to make legislative processes more open and accessible to citizens, streamline legislative operations, reduce time and resources wasted on manual operations, provide access to data, research and analysis to inform legislative decisions, facilitate communication and collaboration amongst legislators, committees and stakeholders and other laudable benefits.
“This development is part of the Conference of Speakers’ efforts to champion legislative reforms, promote good governance, and strengthen democratic institutions in Nigeria.”
He urged strategic partners to join forces with the Conference of Speakers to drive this initiative, sharing expertise and resources to ensure successful implementation.
Ogundoyin, who is the Speaker, Oyo state House of Assembly further expressed optimism about the potentials for E-parliament to transform the legislative landscape in Nigeria.
He acknowledged and commended PERL and ECP as well as other strategic partners for advocating and implementing various legislative reforms which have significantly improved the capacity and effectiveness of state legislatures.
“I would like to acknowledge and commend our strategic partners for their remarkable programs and activities which continued to improve our legislative processes and ultimately promote good governance in our dear nation.
“As we gather here today to reflect on our journey so far, I am reminded of the significant progress we have made in championing legislative reforms at the state level.
“The Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria has been at the forefront of this effort, and I am proud to say that our collaboration with Partnership to Engage, Reform, and Learn (PERL) and others has been instrumental in driving this progress.
“Through our joint efforts, we have successfully advocated for and implemented several key reforms, including Funds Management Bill/Law, State Legislative Service Commission, State Legislative Finance Guidelines, Legislative Financial and Administrative Autonomy, Capacity Development program, Robust Engagements with the State Legislatures on Constitution Review Exercises among others.” Chairman Conference said
