BY CHIJIOKE CHARLES
The newly appointed Chairman Senate Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs has assured Nigerians that the committee has resolved internal challenges and is set to intensify efforts at strengthening legislative diplomacy through renewed engagement with regional and international parliamentary bodies.
The Chairman, Sen. Wadada gave the assurance while briefing journalists after a closed-door executive session of the committee, stating that members had identified the issues affecting the committee’s operations and agreed on measures to address them.
“I feel concerned about it, but when we got into the details of it in a closed-door meeting, we have to know where the problem or the problems are, and they will all be taken care of. The committee will be as active as it should always be,” he said.
Speaking on the committee’s direction under his leadership, the chairman said the focus would remain on fulfilling its statutory mandate of promoting legislative cooperation between Nigeria’s National Assembly and parliamentary institutions across the world.
According to him, the committee will work to deepen relationships with international parliamentary organisations, including the ECOWAS Parliament, the Pan-African Parliament, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and other legislative bodies.
“The direction is basically around and about the responsibilities of the committee, which is, of course, to promote and deepen legislative relationship within Nigeria and other legislative bodies around the world, like the ECOWAS Parliament, African Parliament, I mean, IPU, and the rest of them. That’s it,” he stated.
The chairman, however, disclosed that details of the committee’s executive session centred mainly on developing a roadmap for its activities.
“There is nothing other than the fact that a new work plan has been drawn and we shall go by it. As events unfold, you will be notified of the activities that we shall be embarking upon,” he said.
He announced that the committee’s immediate assignment would be a courtesy visit to the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament in Nigeria as part of efforts to strengthen regional parliamentary cooperation.
“Our first immediate plan is to have a courtesy visit to the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament here in Nigeria,” the chairman added.
The renewed commitment signals the committee’s determination to reposition Nigeria’s parliamentary diplomacy and enhance collaboration with regional and global legislative institutions in pursuit of democratic governance, legislative exchange, and international cooperation.
