Date Published: 06/18/09
17th June 2009. Press Release.
LAGOS AC COMMENDS LAGOS HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY INTIATIVE.
The Lagos State chapter of the Action has commended the decision of the Lagos State House of Assembly to take sittings of the house round the 57 local councils of the state. The party sees this a commendable innovation that would certainly bring governance and the law making process nearer to the people.
In a release in Lagos, signed by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of AC, Joe Igbokwe, Lagos AC says the experiment, which is coming from such a pace-setting center of excellence as Lagos, stands to take governance to the grassroots and give the people the needed opportunity to make input into law making and bring the people’s representatives closer to the people they represent. It therefore recommends the initiative to other states in Nigeria and in fact, the federal level.
“We identify proudly with this noble initiative of the Lagos State House of Assembly in their desire to take the business of law making closer to the people who are the main stakeholders in a democracy. We identify with this noble initiative, being yet another spectacular fruit of democracy that can only come from our noble party and the creative thinkers that people it.
“The initiative has really decentralized governance to ensure that the people becomes part of law-making, acquaint themselves with their representatives and get to know how to track them. At a time governance and the people that participate in it are getting increasingly alienated from the people, it is a welcome idea for the members of the Lagos State House of Assembly to decentralize its sittings to the local councils so that the shroud of mystery that encases law-making should be reaped open and the process laid bare for ordinary Lagosians to participate.
“Lagos AC believes that the numerous advantages inherent in this initiative include the enrichment of the process of laws made by the state assembly, the familiarization of the people with the process of law making as well as the quality of laws that are made by the assembly, stand to benefit the good people of Lagos State. We believe that at the end of the day, the entire system of democracy will benefit and the country would be the better for it.
“We recommend the initiative of the Lagos State House of Assembly to other state legislatures, local government legislatures as well as the two chambers of the national assembly if they are desirous of meeting the expectations of the people from them. We unequivocally state that laws become much more effective when they derive from the participation of the people. Such participation can best be guaranteed by taking the law-making process closer to where the people stay, which is what the Lagos State House of Assembly is doing by this wonderful initiative.
“We laud the Lagos State assembly and urge it to continue showing the way for what the process should be as the present Fashola regime is doing for the entire country presently.”
Joe Igbokwe.
Publicity Secretary,
Lagos AC.
