Abuja: The National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) and the Parliamentary Institute of Benin (IPaB) have embarked on a three-year implementation programme aimed at bolstering legislative institutions and fostering democratic governance across West Africa. The initiative was inaugurated at a joint implementation workshop in Cotonou, Benin Republic, where the Director-General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, highlighted the critical need for translating partnership principles into measurable impact and sustainable results. According to News Agency of Nigeria, the workshop served as a platform to develop, validate, and adopt a comprehensive three-year work-plan for implementing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two institutes in November 2024. Sulaiman emphasized the collaboration's focus on strengthening legislative institutions throughout the West African sub-region, addressing the urgent need for capacity building, fostering democratic resilience, and contribut ing to peace, development, and regional integration through knowledge exchange and institutional synergy. Prof. Sulaiman stressed the importance of NILDS and IPaB working closely to leverage their comparative advantages and share best practices. He noted the design of joint programmes in research, training, legislative strengthening, and parliamentary diplomacy as essential steps. The workshop provided an opportunity to align priorities and ensure that the framework adopted is practical, measurable, and responsive to the evolving needs of parliaments and citizens across the region. Sulaiman, a former Minister of National Planning, urged both institutions to utilize their collective experience, wisdom, and innovation in shaping a work-plan that reflects common aspirations and delivers tangible outcomes. In his statement, Sulaiman reaffirmed NILDS's commitment to the partnership, expressing anticipation for continued collaboration through staff exchanges, technical assistance, joint publications, policy dialo gues, and mutual support in fulfilling institutional mandates. Dr. Sedami Fagla, Director of IPaB, remarked that the workshop was the culmination of extensive efforts since January 2025. He outlined the collaboration's focus on studies of democracy, training of legislators and support staff, as well as promoting good governance. Fagla expressed confidence in the partnership's potential to positively impact the parliaments of both countries and reaffirmed her commitment, along with her entire team, to the initiative.
Menu