The National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) has launched a large-scale capacity-building programme to train more than 700 National Assembly staff in a bid to enhance professionalism and institutional efficiency.
Speaking at the opening of a three-day workshop in Abuja, the Director-General of NILDS, Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, said effective lawmaking depends not only on elected lawmakers but also on a skilled and principled legislative bureaucracy.
“The success of any legislature depends not solely on the elected representatives, but equally on the efficiency, competence, and professionalism of the bureaucratic structure that supports them,” Sulaiman said.
He explained that the training, which runs from October to December 2025, combines conceptual learning with comparative best practices to improve performance across various departments of the Assembly.
The modules, according to him, cover lawmaking and legislative drafting, official reporting, library and information management, financial management, procurement, audit and compliance, pensions, research and publication, as well as office management.
Sulaiman urged participants to engage actively with facilitators—comprising scholars and practitioners—and to return to their offices as “ambassadors of excellence” who will strengthen legislative output and governance quality in Nigeria.
He commended Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Abbas Tajudeen for their continuous support of the Institute’s initiatives, noting that their leadership has been crucial in promoting institutional capacity development.
Representing the Clerk to the National Assembly, Barrister Kamoru Ogunlana, Deputy Clerk Bashir Yero, urged participants to approach the training with seriousness and integrity.
“Capacity without character threatens institutional integrity,” Yero warned, stressing the need for staff to pair competence with ethical conduct in public service.
Ogunlana, in his remarks delivered through the Deputy Clerk, commended the partnership between NILDS and the National Assembly, describing it as a demonstration of their shared commitment to building a modern, efficient, and accountable legislative workforce.