Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Bassey, has lauded House of Representatives member, Mrs. Zainab Gimba, on her emergence as Vice-Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women in Parliament (CWP) International and tasked parliamentarians to be innovative and evolve with the global trend of legislative business.
Rt. Hon. Bassey, who made this in Munyonyo, Kampala, Uganda, where led a delegation of the State House of Assembly to the 64th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) conference, said Gimba’s feat has further shown that the association has kept to its vision of connecting, developing, promoting and supporting Parliamentarians and their staff to identify benchmarks of good governance and the implementation of enduring values of the Commonwealth.
He tasked parliamentarians at all levels in Nigerian to take advantage of the ongoing CPA conference and take the centre stage in the comity of nations.
While commending the organizer of the event and the aptness of the theme of the conference, ‘Adaption, engagement, and evolution of parliaments in a rapidly changing Commonwealth,’ the Speaker, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Mr. Darlington Udobong, described Mrs. Gimba’s emergence as key in Africa’s quest for the enhancement of the powers of the parliament.
“I am glad Nigeria is represented through Mrs. Zainab Gimba, a former University Don and member representing Bama/Ngala/Kala-Balge Federal Constituency of Borno State, who was elected Chairperson of the African Regional of the CWP few weeks ago in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Today, she is the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women in Parliament and this position qualifies her to represent the continent at the CWP International meetings. But we can achieve more as a nation, we can walk the miles as a nation and occupy the centre stage. I urge all parliamentarians in Nigerian to take up the challenge and embrace the global trend in lawmaking. The world is talking about adaptation, evolution, innovation and commitment to the task of legislation, we should not be bystanders, we should strive to take the lead,” the statement maintained.
The statement also hinted that members of the Akwa Ibom delegation would have the benefit of taking part in so many workshops and roundtable discussions including “Climate Change: Achievements, Challenges and Efficacy of Parliamentary Interventions; Innovation in Parliament: the impact of science and technology on how Parliament works today; The role of Parliament in facilitating persons with disabilities as electors, candidates and legislators; The Role of Parliament in the doctrine of Separation of Powers; Enhancing Transparency and Accountability; Maintaining Stability, Evolution, Dynamics and Challenges of Terrorism in Eastern Africa, among others,” among others.
