The Ekiti State House of Assembly, in partnership with a civic technology non-governmental organisation, Legis360, has trained 50 participants drawn from various organisations across the state on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and the rudiments of legislative processes.
The one-day capacity building programme was held at the Assembly Complex, Ado-Ekiti.
Speaking at the training, the Executive Director of Legis360, Mr Folorunso Samuel, said the organisation is primarily concerned with the collation, documentation and assessment of legislative activities and performance of the National and State Houses of Assembly.
He explained that Legis360 was established in Ekiti to monitor and evaluate the level of transparency of the Seventh Assembly in the discharge of its constitutional mandates of lawmaking, representation and oversight over the last three years.
According to him, the organisation conducted independent research, investigations and fieldwork before arriving at its assessment, noting that its findings were consistent with the Presidency’s rating which adjudged the Ekiti State House of Assembly as the best State Assembly in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration in Nigeria.
Mr Samuel stressed the need for citizens to understand the constitutional functions of legislators as provided for in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.
He described Legis360 as an advocacy, development and public enlightenment initiative and a non-profit civic technology organisation committed to advancing transparency, accountability and citizen participation in Africa’s legislative process.
He further described the Ekiti Assembly as a pacesetter in ICT integration, adding that innovations introduced by the Seventh Assembly under the leadership of the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye, particularly the e-Parliament initiative, have made the House a reference point for other State Assemblies.
“It is crystal clear that the Seventh Assembly, under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye, has become the cynosure of other Houses of Assembly in Nigeria with the introduction of e-Parliament. The House has taken parliamentary processes to the doorstep of the people and has made the business of lawmaking more accessible and efficient,” he stated.
In his remarks, the Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye, represented by the Leader of the House, Hon. Tolulope Ige, commended Legis360 for the initiative and for projecting the activities and achievements of the Assembly.
He emphasised the importance of continuous training in the 21st century and urged participants to internalise the knowledge gained and deploy the tools effectively to enhance service delivery in their respective organisations.
The Ekiti State Coordinator of Legis360, Mrs Mary Olukayode, said the organisation aims to sensitise the public on the functions of the legislature, stressing that legislators are not executors of projects and should not be held responsible for road construction, boreholes, procurement of transformers, building of classrooms and other executive functions.
Some participants who spoke after the training, including the Executive Director of Albinism Network, Mr Muyiwa Abegunde, and the Executive Director of Centre for Advocacy, Development and Rights (CADAR), Ado-Ekiti, Mrs Feyisayo Olamide, commended Legis360 for the programme.
They described the training as an eye-opener that would enable them to better understand the roles of the legislature, while also lauding the Ekiti State House of Assembly for its ICT-driven innovations, especially the e-Parliament system.
