Akwa Ibom Rep trains 52 councillors on legislation

Councillors during the training exercise

The member representing Oron/Mbo/Okobo/Udung Uko/Urueoffong Oruko Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Martins Esin, has sponsored a two-day capacity-building programme for 52 councillors from his constituency.

The training, facilitated by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, was themed, “Strategic Leadership, Developing Legislative Practice and Procedures for Effective Local Government Administration in Nigeria.”

Esin, who was represented at the opening ceremony on Friday by the Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Omen Bassey, said the exercise was designed to strengthen the legislative competence and leadership capacity of councillors at the grassroots.

He said, “This training exercise is designed to strengthen the legislative competence and leadership capacity of councillors at the grassroots.

“The negligence of local government administration had contributed significantly to poverty and hunger in this country. Hence, we must continue to build capacity even at the grassroots.”

He commended President Bola Tinubu for insisting on local government autonomy, stressing the need to strengthen the third tier of government to deliver development to the people.

He urged the councillors to take the training seriously, noting that they were potential leaders whose responsibilities would continue to grow.

He expressed confidence that the knowledge acquired would translate into improved performance and service delivery in their respective wards.

In his remarks, the Director-General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, represented by the institute’s Director of Internal Audit, David Akinyemi Osanaiye, commended the lawmaker for investing in capacity development at the grassroots.

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Sulaiman said the initiative would lead to improved public service and more effective representation across the constituency, adding that the riverine nature of the area required strategic and context-specific approaches to development.

He said councillors remained the most accessible public servants and occupied a critical position in government-people relations, adding that stronger local government institutions were essential to delivering democratic dividends.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, the Chairman of the Oron Federal Constituency Councillors Forum, Hon. Sunday Effiong Eyo, described the programme as an unprecedented opportunity for grassroots lawmakers.

Eyo thanked Esin for sponsoring the training and expressed confidence that the lessons learnt would help participants address legislative challenges and discharge their constitutional responsibilities more effectively.

Dr Samuel Oguche, Deputy Director of Legislative Support Services at the institute, delivered a paper titled “Law Making Process at Local Government: Legislative Practice, Process and Procedures, Including Types and Uses of Legislative Instruments; Motions, Resolutions, Public Hearings and Investigations,” urging the participants to judiciously utilise the knowledge acquired.

Also, Prof. Hakeem Onapajo of the Legislative Centre for Security Analysis spoke on “Overview of the Nigerian Security Architecture and State Policing: Issues, Challenges and Prospects.”

Other sessions included “Budget and Appropriation Processes, Including Financial and Administrative Autonomy for Local Government Areas,” delivered by Dr Asimiyu Abiola, Director of Studies at NILDS, and “Committees in the Local Government Legislative Council: Types, Composition, Operations and Procedures for Committee Deliberations,” presented by Dr Mohammed Amali, Senior Research Fellow, Legislative Support Services, NILDS.

The presentations were followed by interactive sessions, during which participants engaged the resource persons on practical issues affecting their legislative duties and local government administration.