{"id":23646,"date":"2026-07-30T16:58:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T15:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/?post_type=events&p=23646"},"modified":"2026-09-08T10:10:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T09:10:32","slug":"retreat-of-the-house-of-representatives-committee-on-public-petitions","status":"publish","type":"events","link":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/events\/retreat-of-the-house-of-representatives-committee-on-public-petitions\/","title":{"rendered":"Retreat of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions<\/strong> held a retreat supported by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC)<\/strong> and the European Union in Nigeria<\/strong>, bringing together key stakeholders to examine ways of strengthening citizens\u2019 access to justice and improving the effectiveness of public redress mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The retreat provided an opportunity to reflect on the Committee\u2019s constitutional mandate, review its achievements and challenges, and identify priorities for strengthening its role in promoting accountable and responsive democratic governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strengthening Access to Justice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In his welcome remarks, Clement Nwankwo, Executive Director of PLAC<\/strong>, emphasised the importance of access to justice<\/strong> and highlighted the role of the House Committee on Public Petitions in providing citizens with an accessible avenue for seeking redress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that the Public Complaints Commission (PCC)<\/strong> is among the institutions established by the Constitution, underscoring the importance attached to protecting citizens\u2019 right to seek redress and ensuring that grievances can be addressed through credible institutional mechanisms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Building Effective Citizens\u2019 Redress Mechanisms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hon. Bashir Abubakar, MFR, Chief Commissioner of the Public Complaints Commission<\/strong>, emphasised the importance of close collaboration among institutions responsible for citizens\u2019 redress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted the complementary roles played by the Public Complaints Commission and the House Committee on Public Petitions<\/strong>, stressing that effective cooperation between both institutions is essential to ensuring that citizens have confidence in an accessible, credible and effective pathway to justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviewing the Committee\u2019s Work and Challenges<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hon. Bitrus Kwamoti Laori, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Petitions<\/strong>, noted that the Committee\u2019s mandate is rooted in the Constitution and remains central to strengthening public confidence in democratic governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He disclosed that the Committee has received 980 petitions<\/strong>, of which approximately 200 have been concluded<\/strong>. He identified poor compliance by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)<\/strong> and the need for stronger digital record-keeping systems<\/strong> as some of the key challenges affecting the Committee\u2019s work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The figures highlighted both the scale of citizens\u2019 reliance on the Committee as a mechanism for redress and the need to strengthen institutional processes for more effective handling and resolution of petitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Consolidating Outcomes and Priorities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The retreat also featured a presentation by Prof. Adewale Aderemi, Director of Democracy and Governance at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His presentation, titled \u201cStrengthening the Public Petitions Committee as a Mechanism for Citizen Redress: Consolidating Outcomes and Priorities in the Final Year of the 10th Assembly,\u201d<\/strong> examined opportunities for strengthening the Committee\u2019s effectiveness and consolidating its achievements and priorities as the 10th Assembly enters its final year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The retreat provided an important platform for stakeholders to reflect on the Committee\u2019s role in citizen redress, access to justice and democratic accountability<\/strong>, while identifying practical measures to improve its capacity to respond effectively to citizens\u2019 petitions and strengthen public confidence in democratic institutions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23649,"template":"","class_list":["post-23646","events","type-events","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"featured_img":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Hon.-Bitrus-Kwamoti-Laori.jpeg","coauthors":[],"author_meta":{"author_link":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/author\/olumide-adebayo\/","display_name":"PLAC"},"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 1 month ago","modified":"Updated 5 days ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on July 30, 2026","modified":"Updated on September 8, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on July 30, 2026 4:58 pm","modified":"Updated on September 8, 2026 10:10 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","tax_additional":[],"series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events\/23646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/events"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events\/23646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23659,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/events\/23646\/revisions\/23659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placng.org\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}