Lawmakers, Order Paper at Colloquium set Agenda for the 10th National Assembly new legislators

Very ranking lawmakers at the House of Representatives and OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative have set the new template and yardstick to be used in assessing the effective performance of the legislative duties of a lawmaker in the 10th National Assembly ahead of the 2023 general elections.

They made this known during a colloquium and public presentation of the Annual Report at the green chamber of the apex legislative institution organized to appraise the performance of the 9th National Assembly.

The report is an independent performance appraisal of the 9th National Assembly of the House and the Senate in key areas of legislative duties by the Order paper Advocacy Initiative initiative.

One of the lawmakers and Chief Whip of the House Hon. Tahir Monguno observed that the performance of a lawmaker should not be based on the number of social functions attended but on the number of bills sponsored as well as other legislative activities.

Monguno stated that a good number of experienced and quality legislators have been sacrificed by the electorates during elections due to errors of judgment where they are seen as non performers by their constituents.

The Deputy Minority Leader of the House Hon Toby Okechukwu urged the media to not only be reporting only what the national lawmakers do but also set the tone for public discourse.

Also in a contribution, a member from Abia state Hon Nkem Abonta, stressed the need for the media to always lay emphasis on the core of legislators’ role particularly in the public space because according to him, most of the constituents use a different parameter in assessing the performance of lawmakers.

The Executive Director OrderPaper Advocacy Initiative Mr. Oke Epia in a remark said that there is an urgent need to institutionalized citizenship participation in the democratic process through critical assessment of legislators’ performance in the National Assembly.

Epia noted that the appraisal of the national assembly members would provide an objective basis for citizens to determine the suitability or otherwise of incumbent legislators seeking reelection.

Another evaluation matrix is whether the bills sponsored by the lawmakers contribute to the security, anti-corruption, economic and political needs of the citizens of Nigeria and if they convey the needs of these persons

He also added that the productivity of the lawmakers as to how well and far their bills have progressed towards becoming laws is equally an essential aspect of the legislative process.

For a better society

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