Abbas: Legislative Oversight Critical to Our Democracy

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has said the National Assembly’s oversight of holding the other arms of government accountable was critical to Nigeria’s democracy.

Abbas, in a statement, yesterday, by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Krishi, noted that the 10th Assembly would also be accountable to the public.

The speaker made this known at a one-day workshop on ‘Assessment of the National Monitoring and Evaluation Policy of Nigeria and the Role of Legislature’ organised by the Directorate of Planning and Legislative Budget of the National Assembly.

Represented by the Chairman of the House Committee on Legislative Budget, Hon. Mohammed Bio, he explained that the issue of monitoring and evaluation constitute a major part of the constitutional responsibility of the legislature called oversight.

He said through oversight, the legislature, as the representatives of the people, ensured that the government remained accountable to citizens on the utilisation of public funds, as well as in the implementation of policies and laws.

 Abbas  stressed that these policies and laws were codifications of the wishes and aspirations of the Nigerian people, saying, “It is one function that is critical to democracy as a government of the people.

“Monitoring and evaluation as a national policy is a framework designed as a way of institutionalising standard practices and culture of good governance in public investment and accountability towards improvement of socio-economic development of the society.”