Insufficient Legislative Drafters Affecting Lawmaking in Nigeria, NILDS DG Laments

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Director General of the National Institute For Legislative And Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, has said the insufficient number of legislative drafters in the national and state assemblies is affecting lawmaking in Nigeria 

The former Minister of National Planning stated this Thursday during the inauguration of the third NILDS Internship Programme on Legislative Drafting in Abuja.

Sulaiman said NILDS introduced the internship programme on legislative drafting when it discovered the need to strengthen the nation’s parliaments with experts that would make the lawmakers’ jobs easier.

He said the insufficient numbers of legislative drafters in the parliaments across Nigeria was because no university in the country was offering it as a course.

Sulaiman said all the interns are qualified lawyers who had either first class or second class upper at their degree level.

He said: “The NILDS Internship Programme on Legislative Drafting is an initiative designed to provide interns with the requisite knowledge, and skills in legislative drafting.

“This is to enhance the capacity of interns in legislative drafting and equip them with the necessary knowledge needed to actively contribute to the drafting of laws and other legislative instruments for the legislature in the country. 

“This initiative is important in view of the fact that legislative drafting is a very specialised area of law that is not taught as a regular course in conventional institutions of learning. 

“It is on this note therefore, that I wish to urge the participants who have been carefully selected by our team of experts to consider themselves lucky to benefit from this great opportunity.

“The objectives of the internship programme are specially designed to acquaint interns with knowledge on the principles and rules of legislative drafting, the legislative process and the role of a legislative drafter.

“They are expected to know the different types of legislation, such as bills, regulations and treaties.

“They will also have the  skills on legal research and analysis of legal issues relevant to legislative drafting, committee system in the legislature, and to understand the impact of legislation on the society.

“This initiative is based on the commitment of the institute to bridge the gap in the acute shortage of legislative drafters in the country despite the increasing demand for their services across the national and sub-national levels.”

Sulaiman added that the internship initiative was the first of its kind to be organised by any African Parliament.

“Nigeria is taking the lead and hopes that other parliaments will follow suit,” he said.

The DG said the leadership of the 10th National Assembly was commitment to sustaining the laudable initiative considering the gains and potentials it would have in consolidating and strengthening the legislative institution.

According to him, “In 2022, two batches of interns were trained by the institute. The training for the first batch commenced in February, while the second batch commenced in May 2022.  

“At the end of the programme, the interns were assessed, and the institute granted the best interns employment opportunity with the institute, and this year’s internship programme will not be an exception.  

“The interns were also issued certificates, as well as letters of recommendation for engagement of their services by legislators.”

THISDAY reports that 30 interns were admitted into the programme.

The institute has so far trained 60 legislative drafters since the internship programme started in 2022.