Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, has called on parliaments across Africa to put in more effort towards the realisation of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).
He also restated the commitment of the Nigerian National Assembly to the realization of the MDGs through effective tracking of budgetary allocation to the MDGs office.
“As representatives of the people, legislators are in better position to champion the realization of the MDGs,” he said, and called on other African parliaments to be involved in the formulation of the MDGs strategy at the national level to allow formal and informal input from people at the grassroots and members of civil society groups.
Speaking at the 5th Annual Conference of Speakers of African Parliaments in Midrand, South Africa, Tambuwal said it was because of the importance attached to the MDGs that the House established a standing committee on the subject to ensure that the strategy was translated into reality.
A statement issued by Tambuwal’s spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, quoted the Speaker as saying that the MDGs had the potential to tackle many development challenges confronting developing countries.
“We believe that by adequate budgetary allocation to the programme and effective scrutiny and oversight to ensure full implementation of the budget, the MDGs will be achieved, even if not 100 percent.
The Speaker noted with concern how African continent continues to remain backward in the provision of basic needs of its citizens, such as health, education, water and infrastructural provision in spite of its economic potential.
He therefore urged African parliaments to be proactive so as to reverse the negative trend.He therefore urged African parliaments to be proactive so as to reverse the negative trend
Declaring the conference open, the President of Pan-African Parliament (PAP), Hon Bethel Amadi, faulted the non-involvement of the African parliaments in the formulation of the MDGs, a situation, he noted, made the full implementation of the policy difficult for African countries.
Originally posted on Leadership Newspaper
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