The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has charged legislators on accountability and good governance.
A press statement by EFCC Head, Media & Publicity, Dele Oyewale, Friday in Abuja, said the anti-graft agency’s boss gave the charge while speaking at the Policy Dialogue and Public Unveiling of the 10th National Assembly’s Deliberative Barometer and Policy Focus Productivity Report themed: “Legislative Governance Accountability and Productivity Index” organised by the Erudite Growth and Advancement Foundation (ERGAF-Africa) in collaboration with the Civil society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC), Thursday in Abuja.
He said Olukoyede, who spoke through the Director of Public Affairs, Commander of the EFCC (CE) Wilson Uwujaren, charged organisers to take into consideration the issue of governance and accountability of legislators.
He observed that the report and discussions presented were silent on issues of accountability in governance and applauded the organizers for a great job, adding that it will go a long way in addressing pressing issues.
The spokesperson noted that the
Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon Abbas Tajudeen, in his remark, disclosed that there was need to constantly raise the standard of representation, lawmaking and oversight by spotlighting legislative output that would altogether make stronger impact on legislative processes and deepen the democratic culture.
Thr speaker, who was represented by Hon Cyril Godwin Hart, added that beyond institutional reforms, the barometer aligns with the vision of the 10th Assembly to entrench evidence- based lawmaking that will make lawmakers respond to data which will serve as a reference point for legislators and stakeholders seeking to evaluate and strengthen preliminary contributions to national development.
In the same vein, Director General of National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Professor Abubakar Suleiman, applauded the launch of the initiative for providing data needed to evaluate the activities of the 10th Assembly.
Abubakar noted that accurate data and artificial intelligence will surely drive decisions which will enhance transparency and accountability of governance.
Also, Hon Bamidele Salam, in a goodwill message, stated that leadership was about taking people to where they should be. He decried the fact that citizens were more interested in the dividends of democracy and fruits of the mandate given to legislators and called for support from the government to ensure the sustenance of the initiative.