The House of Representatives has passed for Second Reading the bill to expand the mandate of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) to include in their establishment law, the conduct of induction of newly elected members of the National and State Assembly and conduct of promotional examination for staff of the National Assembly and National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) (HB 2221). The bill is sponsored by Hon. Henry Nwawuba (APC:Imo) and Hon. Jimoh Abdul (APC: Lagos)

Leading the debate on the bill at the plenary session of Wednesday, 24 May 2023, the co-sponsor, Hon. Jimoh Abdul, stated that the bill seeks to amend the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies Act, 2011 to allow for institutionalization of legislative programs as well as strengthen democratic governance.

Although, the Bill was not subjected to further debates and discussions, the Deputy Speaker Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase (APC: Plateau) objected to the provisions of the Bill noting that the underlying objective of the bill was contradictory. Hon. Wase in his submission described the Bill as “faulty” stating that NILDS sought to usurp the powers of the National Assembly and that of NASC suggesting that the Bill be stepped down for further legislative scrutiny. The Chief Whip, Hon. Mohammed Tahir Monguno (APC: Borno) also spoke in support of the views of the Deputy Speaker.

In response to the submission of Hon. Wase and Hon. Monguno, the Speaker mentioned that their feedback will be taken into consideration during the public hearing on the Bill and subsequently referred the Bill to the Committee of the Whole.