Why NASS established NILDS – Says Saraki

By Hafsat Abdullahi

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has said the Nigeria Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) has grown into an institution that strengthens Nigeria democracy and economy, justifying its establishment.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony of 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 academic session, Saraki also congratulated the graduates at a joint convocation held in Abuja.
The Senate President, who is also the chairman of NILDS’s Governing Council, laid emphasis on how the 8th Assembly has formulated policies targeted at driving productivity, easy access to finance, creating jobs and improving livelihoods in the case of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
He stated that the Senate has amended the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act to ensure that the 2 percent budgetary allocation to Universal Basic Education Commission by the federal government is increased to 3 percent to improve the quality of primary and secondary education.
Saraki further stated that the main reason for the institution is to educate the National Assembly, the legislature and others on applied skills and improve their capacity in order to set a path to successful legislative arena.
“This mix of academic rigour and applied skills provides an education that will set you on the path to successful careers in the legislative arena. For those of you who are part of the bureaucracy of the National Assembly, I expect that you will bring the newly acquired knowledge to bear on your various assignments, for increased professionalism and productivity.
“Let me assure that on our part, the leadership of the National Assembly is committed to working to realize the goal of making the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies a unique regional asset and a premier research institute,” Saraki said.