Saraki tasks African parliament on people-oriented legislation

The Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has said that citizens can only appreciate the work of the legislature if the end-products positively impact on their lives.

Saraki, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, in Abuja, made the remarks while playing host to a 10-man parliamentary delegation from the Ugandan Parliament, who are in Nigeria to understudy the Public Accounts Committees of both chambers of the National Assembly.

While welcoming the delegation to Nigeria, Saraki said the visit was necessary to enable parliamentarians of both countries share experiences and also further enhance the good relations existing between Nigeria and Uganda.

He said: “The challenges facing parliamentarians in emerging democracies are the same, because the legislature is the youngest arm of government. The executive and judiciary have always been in existence.

“Our people usually do not understand the value that we add but we have a role to play to make them understand. We are supposed to do that by looking at some of the laws we pass and those that add value.

We also need to look at our oversight functions, our reports are not just reports, they must have a bite. I think we can do that and are supposed to begin to look inward on how we can strengthen our laws.”

Earlier, Chairman, Local Government Accounts Committee and leader of the 10-man Ugandan Parliamentary delegation to Nigeria, Okumu Ronald Reagan (MP), thanked the Senate President for the warm reception and for the opportunity to interact with the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly.

“The delegation would like to understudy the operations of the Public Accounts Committees of both Houses of the National Assembly, with a view to identifying best practices in order to improve their performance on the Committee,” Reagan said.