The Speakers of the Ekiti, Oyo and Osun States Houses of Assembly, Adeoye Aribasoye, Adebo Ogundoyin and Adewale Egbedun have entered into a working relationship to ensure stronger legislatures in Southwest Nigeria.
The three Speakers made their resolve known in Ado Ekiti on Thursday during a working visit to the Ekiti State House of Assembly by the Oyo and Osun legislators as part of efforts to deepen peer review, notes comparison and a common front in the interest of the people.
The visit is part of the whistle-stop visits by the lawmakers to all the legislatures in the Southwest, with a visit to the Ondo State House of Assembly scheduled next.
The visitors also attended and observed a plenary session held in their honour in the Ekiti Assembly hallowed chambers.
The motion to allow the two visiting Speakers to address the Ekiti Assembly was moved by the legislator representing Ekiti West Constituency 2, Johnson Oyekola Bode-Adeoye and was seconded by his counterpart representing Oye Constituency 2, Hon. Idowu Odebunmi.
In moving the motion, Bode-Adeoye said the visit of the two Speakers was “official and historic.”
Speaking while hosting his counterparts from the two neighbouring states, Ekiti Speaker, Aribasoye stressed the importance of parliament, describing it as the essence of democracy because it contains the elected representatives of the people noting that “without legislature, there is no democracy.”
Aribasoye explained that there is a need for all the state legislatures in the Southwest to always come together and sustain deep, fruitful and rewarding working relationships noting that the parley was a follow-up to a recent meeting in Abuja in which they developed “one for all, all for one agenda.”
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While noting that the legislature is faced with what he called “complex and demanding challenges,” Aribasoye said the heads of the legislatures in the geopolitical zone must come out with measures to navigate the identified “landmines” for the institution of the parliament to be protected.
Ekiti Speaker said: “Our coming together is about peer review and cross-fertilization of ideas, presenting common positions collaboration and establishing solid working relationships among ourselves in the interest of the people we represent.
“We also discussed about digitalized parliament, and what happened in Delta State so that we can learn about it because it is about the learning process. The Southwest has always been at the forefront of change and innovations.
“We can even have a special plenary that will combine all the six State Assemblies in the Southwest together. Oyo can host it, Ekiti is not afraid of hosting it as well. We should begin to work on it and let this form part of our agenda.”
In his remarks, the Oyo Speaker, Ogundoyin, described the visit as a handshake between Oyo, Osun and Ekiti States to share notes and bring the Southwest States together for the purpose of accelerated development.
Speaking on the collaboration, Ogundoyin said: “We have to foster ways to empower the legislature. We must reach out to bordering states to share notes, to share ideas and for ideas to be shared, it has to be under a relaxed atmosphere.
“We will compare notes on areas where we are lacking and where we can learn from one another. There are so many things we can share about the issue of financial autonomy. This is the time for us to come together, this is the time for us to stick together.”
Osun Speaker, Egbedun, expressed gratitude for the reception accorded the visiting legislators calling on the need for strengthening the bond between the parliaments of the neighbouring states.
He said the visit signified the importance of fostering interstate collaboration for legislative excellence and sharing working experiences, adding that he would be looking forward to receiving Ekiti legislators for a working visit to Osun Assembly in the near future.
Daily Post