Engage public, stakeholders in legislative processes, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila tells colleagues

…asks defaulting agencies to subject themselves to budget defence 
…as House passes PIB, Electoral Act amendment for second reading 
The Speaker of the House of Representatives Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila on Tuesday urged the chairmen and deputy chairmen of the standing committees of the House to create innovative ways of engaging the public and relevant stakeholders in every legislative process.

By so doing, the Speaker said, the House would have succeeded in building support for policy initiatives as well as promoting the relationship between the House and the public on one hand and the critical stakeholders on the other hand.

In an address to welcome his colleagues from the budget defence break embarked upon in October, Gbajabiamila said the House has a lot of tasks ahead in the coming weeks.

Gbajabiamila’s appeal to his colleagues came as the House debated and passed for second reading two critical Bills, namely: the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill.

He said already, the Special Committee on Constitution amendment chaired by Deputy Speaker, Rep. Hon Ahmed Wase, has since commenced work as it had called for memoranda from the public.

He encouraged members to reach out to their constituents “to participate in both the Constitutional Review and Electoral Amendment processes by articulating and submitting the changes they wish to see. This too is part of the joint task of nation-building.

“It is through the aggregation of the many and varied opinions of all Nigerians that we will arrive at a constitution that meets all the best expectations we have for our country.

“As much as is possible, I encourage all the Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen of the House Committees to seek out innovative avenues for public engagement, stakeholder collaboration and cross-pollination of policy ideas.

“Increased public participation in the legislative process is also part of our Legislative Agenda, when done appropriately, such interactions can build support for policy initiatives and promote relations between the House and the public and the critical policy stakeholders.”

The Speaker said following the budget defence period, “Efforts are in full swing to ensure that we will pass the budget on time in keeping with the standard we set last year, and which the Nigerian people now rightly expect of us.”

However, the Speaker observed that during the budget defence process, there were government agencies “that consider the exercise of the legislative authority to review their budget proposals as an undue incursion on the management of their offices.

“This posture stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the legislative role in the appropriations process. Let me at this time reiterate that when the Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate convene to review the heads of expenditure contained in the Appropriation Bill, we do so in the exercise of clear and concise constitutional authority.”

“Let me also state very clearly that this is a responsibility we take seriously, and will not evade, regardless of whatever objections may arise from any quarters.”