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THE AGENDA

T he 9th senate will take legislative steps electronic device, software or mechanism efficiency of its legislative and administra-
that provides for hands-on real time moni-
to combat corruption, to reduce youth
tive operations some of the propositions
unemployment, poverty, criminality and toring of the trajectory of bills, time-lines of include the following:
security, and to address longstanding eco- passage and signing into law. The objective
nomic challenges. is to expedite the passage of bills and mo- 1.7.1. Intranet & Electronic Noticeboards
This agenda has two related components. tions, eliminate bureaucracy and to provide The 9th senate will work towards improved
The first involves legislative reforms with user-friendly tools for public monitoring of internal communication amongst senators,
the objective of improving the perfor- legislative activities. committee clerks and key legislative aides
mance of the senate. The second compo- to achieve a seamless information flow in
nent will focus on engaging with other 1.2.2 Enhancement of Internal Operations the senate. This will be achieved by the
arms of government to achieve robust leg- of Committees. Regular status review of installation of a robust intranet commu-
islative interventions, institutional reforms committees is essential in developing a nication system and an electronic notice-
and national development. response to current and inherited obsta- board in a dedicated portal for information
cles to their effective performance and to management in the Senate.
OBJECTIVES OF THE LEGISLATIVE AGENDA strengthen and improve them. With this, 1.7.2 Digitization and Archiving of Records
The legislative agenda aims to achieve the committees will be re-invigorated to func- The current document storage situa-
following: tion optimally as drivers of the legislative tion in the senate is purely physical and
- Reposition the senate to carry out its agenda. space-consuming. The proposed solution is
constitutional duties of legislation, over- 1.2.2.1 Committees and Agenda Setting to introduce a digital storage system which
sight and representation in an open and The senate leadership will conduct regular will preserve documents retrieval faster.
transparent manner; brainstorming retreats with the chairman
- Strengthen the internal operations and and deputy Chairmen of committees to set 1.8 INTER CHAMBER COORDINATION
processes of the committees of the senate specific targets for the committees. A re- To promote legislative synergy at the
towards efficient service delivery; view of the performance of the committees National Assembly, the senate will collab-
- Take legislative action to improve nation- will be done to assess and refocus their orate with the House of Representatives to
al economic conditions including public efforts where necessary. achieve joint oversight by jointly embark-
finance management and national security 1.2.2.2 Operational Efficiency and Compli- ing on investigative visits and hearings.
architecture and to reduce poverty, unem- ance The 9th Senate will strive to eliminate the
ployment and infrastructure deficits; Standard Operations procedures (SOPs) will duplication of committee functions.
- Propose and implement a national be developed with clearly defined tools for
planning and annual budget process that each committee. This will involve the devel- 1.9 STRENGTHENING EXTERNAL
fosters collaboration between the execu- opment of instruments, formats, templates, RELATIONS
tive and legislative arms of government. manuals and guidelines for established 1.9.1 Presidency and Federal Government
- Continue with legislative action to bring protocols for meetings, public hearings, The senate already works with the Federal
to closure all outstanding legislation oversight visits and reporting. Government through its appropriation
including the electoral act and constitution and budget oversight functions. This
amendments bills. 1.3.1 CAPACITY BUILDING FOR collaboration will be strengthened through
SENATORS AND NASS STAFF improved dialogue between the senate
A NATIONAL ASSEMBLY THAT WORKS FOR Working collaboratively with National committees and MDAs. The 9th senate
NIGERIA Institute for Legislative and democratic will make a conscious effort to ensure a
The parliament is an independent organ Studies (NILDS), the senate will undertake smoother relationship with the presidency,
of democratic governance with specif- a training needs Assessment (TNA) of all its by organizing periodic senate-presiden-
ic powers and authority to deliver on departments and agencies to determine cy meetings to discuss issues of national
responsibilities of legislation, oversight and the areas of skills acquisition required for importance.
representation. committee members and their staff to
The public perception of the role, value and perform optimally. 1.9.2 State Governments/Houses of Assem-
contributions of the senate to nation-build- bly
ing needs to improve. There is a need to 1.4 STAFF WELFARE AND IMPROVED IN- Though not a traditional partner in matters
develop strategies which will build public DUSTRIAL RELATIONS of legislation and oversight, the 9th Senate
confidence through public engagement. The 9th Senate will pay special attention to will institute a channel of engagement
The 9th Senate must reposition itself in the the recurring challenge of industrial unrest with state Governments through the
minds of Nigerians and be regarded as an amongst the staff of the National Assembly, Nigeria Governors forum and conference
efficient institution that is working to deliv- the legislative aides of Senators, and the of speakers for the purpose of peer review
er development and improved governance staff of the National Assembly Service Com- and learning, and to engage state govern-
for the Nigerian people. mission. Dialogue will be encourages until ments on matters requiring sub national
To this end, we, the elected senators of all issues are resolved in the best interest of policy implementation and concurrent or
the 9th Senate of the Federal Republic of all parties concerned. subsidiary legislation.
Nigeria, in Consultation with stakeholders,
hereby present our blueprint for a senate 1.5 PLANNING AND BUSINESS
and National Assembly that will meet the PROCESS REFORM
expectations for Nigerians. Specifically, The current national planning and annual
the agenda outlines the strategic direction budgeting process requires substantial
that the Senator Ahmad Lawan-led Senate reform in order to restore its integrity in
intends to take over the next four years. the eyes of Nigerians. To this end, the 9th
While we recognize the principle of sepa- senate will pursue an aggressive planning
ration of powers, this agenda recognizes and budget process reform agenda.
the need for collaboration and cooperation
with other arms of government to deliver 1.6 OPEN NASS AND BUDGET TRANSPAR-
on our legislative goals for improved gover- ENCY
nance of the country. To effectively address the crisis of confi-
The collaboration will focus on reform- dence between the senate and the general
ing critical social and economic sectors public, the 9th senate shall adopt a trans-
and improving the management of the parent and accountable system that offers
socio-economic policy space between the full disclosure of its budget in terms of
Federal and sub. personnel costs, operational expenses and
other expenditure.
1.2.1 BILL PROGRESSION TRACKING AND 1.7 ICT-ENABLED SENATE
MONITORING The 9th senate will employ modern
This involves the provision of a modern information technology to improve the
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