Gbajabiamila, NBA Strengthen Collaboration on Law Reform

Udora Orizu

The Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has underscored the importance of collaboration between public institutions and the private sector, saying that partnerships between the public and private institutions are bound to promote good governance and sustainable development.

Gbajabiamila stated this yesterday during the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on law reform.

According to him, contrary to what a lot of people think, governance is about collaboration and not about politicians alone. He added that collaboration between the two bodies since the inception of the 9th House has witnessed positive results in the passage of some critical laws in the country.

He said: “This is basically the formalization of something that’s already working. The signing of the MoU may seem symbolic, but I see it beyond that. I see it as a way of deepening our democracy and developing the country, which we all so passionately love. Contrary to what a lot of people think, I always believe that governance is about collaboration; it’s about everybody. It’s not about politicians alone, it’s about everybody, so we’ve got to maximize our efforts and potential to bold, bigger and better things for this country.

“I’m glad that law reform is a core mandate of the NBA, and for us too, law reform is part of our core mandate. When we repeal laws and amend laws, we are reforming laws. It’s gratifying to know that we actually have a shared mandate, but what we do with that shared mandate is what will determine how far we can take this”.

Earlier in his remarks, the NBA President, Olumide Akpata, noted that the association is desirous of working with the Legislature to bring to bear legislation for good governance.

He explained that the signing of the MoU was to remedy the past situation where the NBA seemed not to be keen on working with the Legislature.

According to him, the signing into law of the Police Service Commission law as a result of the collaboration between the House and NBA following the 2020 #Endsars protests, saying it showed what collaboration of this nature can achieve.

He also solicited the speaker’s assistance about the Legal Practitioners’ Bill that is before the two chambers of the National Assembly.