NILDS DG Inaugurates Legislative Mechanisms to Track Impacts of Laws, Policies on Nigerians

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja 

The Director-General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Abubakar Sulaiman, has inaugurated a mechanism to effectively track the impacts of laws and policies on the living conditions of Nigerians. 

Sulaiman while inaugurating the Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) unit in the institute in Abuja said the mechanism was fundamental in entrenching democratic values in the country. 

The Director-General said that PLS was necessary for legislative effectiveness, as it would strengthen the impacts of laws and policies on Nigerians.

He said the practice of PLS was germane for assessing the impact of the laws being enacted by policy makers on the lives of the citizens. 

Sulaiman said: “As part of our mandate of providing capacity-building and support for the legislature in Nigeria and the ECOWAS sub-region, NILDS is well positioned and prides itself as the pioneer entity in Nigeria to establish such a critical unit. 

“The establishment of this unit today therefore, will serve as a significant milestone towards the institutionalisation of PLS throughout the Nigerian legislature. 

“This will then ensure legislative compliance and impact assessment to legislative decisions and laws being passed by the legislature.

“It is important to underscore that the global practice of strengthening the impact of laws through PLS is necessary for legislative effectiveness. 

“Citizens are more concerned about how government policies or legislations impact them, than just mere words on papers. This is one critical role I believe the PLS will play in our legislative governance space.

“It is also important to recognise that legislative mandate transcends pre-scrutiny of Bills, legislative compliance, or routine, mandated oversight functions that simply police the operations of Ministries, Departments and Agencies. 

“This is where PLS assists to evaluate the extent to which the implementation of laws passed by lawmakers achieve the intended social and economic impact. 

“As a country, therefore, we must strive towards entrenching the values of democratic governance through ensuring that we move beyond simply having numerous laws passed, and reflect more deeply on how these improve the living condition of Nigerians through impactful legislation.”