By Adedayo Akinwale
The President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, have been urged to take control of the lawmakers elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to enable them resolve crises that may arise.
This was part of the 10-point recommendation contained in a communique read by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello, at the end of the executive/legislative leadership retreat held at the Banquet Hall of the presidential villa, Abuja
The parley also recommended the creation of an effective conflict management and resolution mechanism in resolving areas of disagreement between the executive and the legislature in the overall national interest.
It called for a concrete understanding and working knowledge between both the executive and legislature just as it noted that an effective confidence building measure should be put in place in the governance process to ensure mutual respect and cordial relationship between the executive and Legislature.
It stated: “The ruling political party should be encouraged to take ownership of its members to be able to reconcile them whenever conflict arises, and, members in both arms of government should show regard for the party and its leadership.”
“There should be regular pre-budget consultations between the Executive and Legislature particularly between the MDAs and National Assembly committees, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the appropriate Committee in the National Assembly.
“There is need for an effective communication and collaborative engagement to enhance and strengthen the relationship between the arms of government for the benefit of Nigerians.
“The relationship should not be adversarial but complementary, thus, more interpersonal and informal relationship between heads of MDAs and National Assembly members should be encouraged.”
It further recommended that there should be modalities for better access, interfacing and engagement between the leaderships of both arms of government, the National Assembly Committees and Ministries Departments and Agencies should be worked out by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and National Assembly Executive Liaison.
