The details of the Stakeholders dialogue with the Committee on Legislative Agenda held in Abuja on Monday have been revealed.
In a statement issued by the Special Assistant to the Speaker House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, Legendary Joe, he revealed the remarks made by the Speaker during the event.
Premium Politics had reported that Abbas, during the meeting, said the lawmakers had resolved to regularly consult citizens in the discharge of the mandate, adding that the current assembly was “the people’s House for the people’s Mandate”.
He said the House would not hesitate to consult with critical stakeholders in developing the agenda to elicit their own input and areas of expectations.
At the event that held at Transcord Hilton Hotel, Abuja earlier today, the Speaker touched on the following:
1. He acknowledged and applauded the efforts of the Chairman and Members of the Committee on Legislative Agenda and the technical partners for convening such meeting to harness citizens’ input to the Legislative Agenda of the 10th House.
2. He also singled out the Chairman of the Committee, who is also the leader of the House, Hon. (Prof). Julius Ihonvere for his commitment and PLAC for their support which is evident in the proactive and engaging nature with which the committee had performed in the past month. The readiness of the 10th House to urgently respond to the yearnings of the people has been best displayed by this committee.
3. The event today is in consonance with the resolve of the House to consistently consult with the people in the discharge of the mandate received from them. Earlier in the year, in the 4th month, the current speaker, then a member of the House had declared the 10th House as the House of the People when he delivered his instructive speech, “In the People’s House for the People’s Mandate”. We recall that he promised, that in developing a legislative Agenda as it’s the duty of the House, all critical stakeholders will be involved to ensure that everyone’s perspective and inputs are dutifully considered, hence the essence of this gathering.
4. The Speaker expects that conversation will center around the critical needs of the people at this critical time. The Speaker had earlier hinted in his speech on the 4th of July, 2023, that the House will pay priority attention to participatory budgeting process and delivery, employment, health and other critical aspects of Nation Building. Ideas are gratefully welcomed to ensure the 10th Assembly as responsive as possible to the people.
5. Today’s meeting should not be the usual talk-shop, meet and greet and photo-ops but one intended to genuinely provide a framework in having a legislative Agenda that truly meets the yearnings and aspirations of the citizens with which they would use as benchmark to evaluate and assess the performance of their representatives after four years. It’s a critical National Assignment.
6. Our engagements with citizens won’t stop here. The Open Nass project of the 10th House of Representatives requires regular consultations with the people, as we plan to return the Legislative to those who own it through regular productive engagements and this requires lawmakers to have functional constituency offices for regular interaction with our constituents.
