….pledges support for progressives Institute
IGNATIUS OKOROCHA, Abuja
The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau, has stressed the need for political office holders to indergo formal training in democratic studies for enhancement of good governance at all levels.
Barau stated this when he hosted in his office, the Director General of The Progressives Institute, Dr. Lanre Adebayo and his management team, who paid him a courtesy visit.
He pledged that the Senate would support TPI, which was established by the current leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in its task of providing training to emerging young Nigerians on democracy.
Barau said being a beneficiary of a similar American institute established by the National Democratic Party, alongside many federal lawmakers, he would ensure that the Red Chamber provides necessary support to make the progressive institute succeed.
He said, “I was one of those who witnessed the unveiling of the Institute. And I’m one of the admirers and supporters of this Institute and what it stands for. I am doing this wholeheartedly for several reasons.
“One of the reasons, of course, is that I’m a beneficiary of a similar Institute from a foreign land. And since I went for a training programme at that Institute, I’ve been praying that we have a similar body in Nigeria.
“So, when I heard the news through the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje), that this Institute was coming on board, I was delighted.
“This is because I remember about 26 years ago, when I won the election to represent my constituency in the House of Representatives in the Fourth Republic.
“We were invited by the National Democratic Institute of the United States. Which is a similar body owned by the Democratic Party of the United States.
“That Institute decided to come here to give us an intensive training.
Respect for how to go into the legislature of this country. Because at that time, there was a gap.”
Barau added that the Institute is very necessary as there was none when the fourth republic started in 1999 and not yet really on the ground now even after 26 years just as he urged the leadership of the institute to extend their activities to other political parties within and outside Nigeria.
“There was a long period of time that we didn’t have a legislature in this country. Because of the military intervention in our polity then. So almost everything about the legislature was forgotten.
“It was the NDI who came and taught us, in a classroom style, on how to go into the legislature of this country and how to conduct ourselves. And we gained a lot from what we were taught.
“The training we got made us stand out amongst the set of legislators we have in this country. The legislators of the Fourth National Assembly were very much vast in the act of legislature”, he said .
The Director General of The Progressives Institute, Dr. Lanre Adebayo, said the institute was established to strengthen the political community through capacity building on skills in governance and leadership.
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