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It was a gathering of bureacrats,technocrats,politicians and administrators at National Institute For Legislative And Democratic Studies NILDS on Wednesday,18th of August,2021,as the institute hosted a delegation from Ghana Parliamentary Service Commission who came on a working visit to the Institution.
The ten man visitors from Ghana led by a former Member of Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon Johnson Asiedu Nketiah came in company of Nigeria’s counterpart and Chairman, National Assembly Service Commission, Engineer Ahmed Kadi Amshi FNSE.
For NILDS Management under the leadership of a renowned scholar,academic,technocrat, adminstrator and politician of high repute,former Minister of National Planning,current Director General of the institute, Professor Abubakar Olarenwaju Sulaiman, it was a great opportunity as he took the visitors down the memory lane to analyse the political and working relationship between Ghana and her sister nation, Nigeria spanned for decades.
The Director General of NILDS did not minced words in running the democratic successes achieved between the two countries in synergy with the government’s and democratic Institutions of both countries.
He recalled the earlier visit of Ghana delegates both to the National Assembly and the institute in 2016,in it’s quest to understand our system and processes in the build up to establishing parliamentary training institute in Ghana,similar to that of Nigeria and planned bialateral discussion that was slowed down by the pandemic,which halted the capacity building activities of the democratic hub in 2019.
However,the helmsman of NILDS reassured the intention of the institute to continue to share democratic experiences between the MPs from Ghana, through continuous education, Parliamentary staff towards Professionalism of Staffers,Clerk’s or Committees and Legislative aides to Lawmakers.
Unperturbed by both natural and artificial phenomenon,the institute between 2014 and 2019 organised several capacity building workshops for members of ECOWAS parliaments, and MPs of national parliament in the sub- region,as Ghana was not left out.
Professor Olarenwaju Sulaiman said the workshop ensured optimum synergy,as a few of the workshop held in Ghana, including the two days dialogue on the “Challenges of Border crossing and opportunities for trade and finance for ECOWAS countries in Ghana”,which had far -reaching conclusions and recommendations for legislative actions.
The political scientist also recognised the good working relationship with MPs that had visited NILDS as resource persons in some of our capacity building activities.
The renowned political expert recalled how Ghana assisted Nigeria in 2015 when opposition took over the leadership of Nigeria,through a retreat for members of the opposition on how to play the new roles that was politically expedient.
He recalled how the former Ghana Majority leader,Rt Honourable Albat Bagbin,and the Minority leader, Hon Okei Mensa Bonsu presentation on how to transit from a ruling to an opposition party, was a major guide towards virile democratic environment in Nigeria.
These among many others ,the political giant expressed satisfaction with both working relationship with sister parliments that will continue to flourish.
The NILDS Director General also requested for more collaborations in many areas that will guaranteed accelerated democratic norms of both countries.
The ten member Ghana delegates led by Hon Johnson Asiedu Nketiah expressed their gratitude to Nigeria counterpart,as their mission was aimed at garnering more knowledge, experiences and expertise advise towards an impending major reforms in Ghana Parliamentary Service Commission.
The parliamentarian expressed confidence on the ability of NILDS to contribute it’s quota to the developement of Ghana’s democratic practice with new inventions.
Yusuf, Writes From Abuja.
