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From Fred Itua, Abuja
Ahead of the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly and The contest for the positions of President of Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Director-General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies ( NILDS), Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, has admonished on parametres to be used.
He said parametres that will promote national integration and development should be adopted to stem the tide of divisiveness that is pervasive in the polity.
According to him, since elections have come and gone, issues like votes gathered from one zone to the other in deciding where positions of National Assembly leadership should come from should not be prioritised above those of competence, patriotism, and commitment on nationhood.
“Issues being thrown up by contenders in the race for leadership positions of the 10th National Assembly and their supporters are a bit worrisome by tending towards divisiveness and not cohesiveness.
“What should be parameters for selecting or electing Presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly , should be competence , experience on legislative practices and procedures , commitment on Nationhood etc, from the contenders and not those that are purely sentimental.
“Issues that border on national unity should be prioritised far above other ones in the process of selection or election of presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly.”
He added that the knowledge gap created by low turnover of legislators at both chambers , would be filled by capacity – building workshops already planned for legislators of the 10th National Assembly .
For further deepening of democratic governance in the country , Professor Sulaiman disclosed to newsmen that Democracy Radio set up by the Institute for that purpose, would be commissioned by the end of this month just as Legislative Centre for Security Analysis set up by the Institute, will also become operational very soon.
