By Naomi Sharang
Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, the Director-General, National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), has urged Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu-led administration, as steps are being taken to address the economic hardship in the country.
Sulaiman said this on Tuesday in Abuja at the closing ceremony of the third batch of the Legislative Drafting Internship Programme and Induction of the Fourth Batch of Interns of the institute.
He acknowledged the hardship being faced by Nigerians and called on them to keep hope alive.
“From the look of things, what the government has done in the last three days, setting up the Economic Advisory Council, trying to implement the Steve Oronsaye report on the reform of the civil service.
“Trying to regulate the FOREX as it used to be seven months ago.
“These three measures put together, I want to believe things can still bounce back to normalcy. There is every hope that things will still bounce back to normalcy.
“Nobody is immune to hardship; however rich or wealthy you are, however highly placed you are, you can’t say you are immune to it. Nigerians should keep hope alive,” he said.
Sulaiman added: “They should give the government a bit of some space. Let’s see what happens in the next one or two weeks.
“I want to believe that definitely, something positive will come out.”
He said that the internship programme was initiated to address the national need for skilled legislative drafters.
The director-general added that the programme had culminated into the empowerment of the talented individuals and a continuing talent hunt with the commencement of the fourth batch.
Sulaiman said that some of the objectives included equipping interns with the fundamental principles, practices of legislative drafting and building strong skills in legal research and analysis essential for crafting effective legislation.
He urged the interns to carry forward the knowledge and skills acquired and make a significant contribution to the legislative landscape of the nation.
Prof. Shuaibu Danwanka, the Coordinator of the Programme and the Director, Legal Services, NILDS, said that the programme had been beneficial to the National Assembly, State Houses of Assembly and the ECOWAS Parliament.
“This is a transformative initiative. This programme is a testimony and commitment to excellence and has provided valuable opportunities for aspiring legislative drafters in Nigeria.”
Speaking on behalf of the participants, Ms Mandu Ndem, appreciated God for the successful completion of the programme.
“It is something I prayed for; I had desired it. Thank God it ended well.
“This programme is very enlightening. Legislative drafting is like the bedrock of democratic governance.
“Without them, we cannot really have the laws the way it should be. I have seen that the drafters are very efficient, very effective.
“The lawmakers need them to be able to churn up quality legislations that are devoid of ambiguity because that is one problem we have in our legislation in Nigeria.
“If it is ambiguous, even the judiciary will not be able to give a good interpretation to it and it will affect justice at the end of the day,” she said.(NAN)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru/Ali Baba-Inuwa
