OrderPaper Founder, Epia to Speak at Global IPU Event

The Founder and Executive Director of OrderPaper Nigeria, Mr. Oke Epia, has been invited to speak at a global seminar organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the  International Parliament Engagement Network (IPEN).

Epia wiould speak on the topic: ‘Public Petitions – Perspectives from Nigeria,’ from the viewpoint of civil society, including efforts made by his organisation to enhance and institutionalise public petitions in the context of Nigeria’s emerging legislature.

According to a statement, he would be joined on a panel by Hon. Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, a four-term member of the House of Representatives (2007–2023), who chaired the Standing Committee on Public Petitions in the 8th Assembly.

The ex-parliamentarian would also highlight the challenges faced in the process and how they worked with civil society, in particular, towards strengthening the process.

According to the organisers, the virtual event scheduled for Wednesday, October 4 2023, was focused on public petitions and would address the processes and challenges arising from petitions submitted to the lower chamber of Nigeria’s National Assembly.

Described by the IPU “as an important voice in Nigeria’s civic space,” Epia founded OrderPaper; an independent parliamentary monitoring organisation and public policy think-tank, in 2015 and has led the organisation to become a frontline non-state actor in the country’s civic space.

“He has over 23 years of experience spanning the public, private and non-governmental sectors and is currently a member of the National Steering Committee of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) in Nigeria,” the statement added.

Termed the ‘Public Engagement Hub Seminar,’ the IPU/IPEN event was convened as part of efforts to assess how parliaments globally are enabling people to connect with and participate in the law-making, policy formulation and oversight processes that impact their lives now and into the future.

The Public Engagement Hub seminar, which would be held between 09:00 – 10.00 (WAT) through an in-conversation format, is championed by IPU’s Centre for Innovation in Parliament and will be broadcast in English, French and Spanish.

“Building on the findings and recommendations of the IPU-UNDP Global Parliamentary Report 2022 and the World e-Parliament Report Series, the hub is intended to encourage and assist parliaments to further develop their public engagement activities and share their good practice with others.

“The hub, which supports peer learning and knowledge exchange about public engagement with parliament, brings together parliamentary staff, academics, civil society and others to share experiences and good practices through webinars, case studies and an online networking platform,” the statement added.