The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria seeks legislative exchange programmes with Ireland.
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has often emphasised the importance of legislative exchange programmes between Nigeria and the Republic of Ireland.
While formally welcoming the Ambassador of Ireland, Peter Ryan, and his entourage on Thursday, the Senate President drew attention to the exchange programmes in his office in Abuja.
As he welcomed the Irish Envoy and his delegation, Akpabio spoke of his strong friendship with a previous Irish Ambassador during his tenure as the Governor of Akwa Ibom State from 2007 to 2015.
According to a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Jackson Udom, the Senate President stated, “Let me on behalf of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria welcome you and your team here. I congratulate you also for the peace in Ireland.”
He stated further saying, “We have a lot to learn and gain from Ireland because we operate the same bicameral legislature. It would be good if we worked together for the mutual benefit of the two countries.
We can learn a lot through the exchange of parliamentary ideas and programmes to build capacity for our lawmakers.
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“We also need a lot of assistance from Ireland in the area of funding. The President Ahmed Tinubu-led administration is doing a lot in the area of security, but we still need international support. It would be a pleasant thing if we worked together in the area of lawmaking, bill drafting, and oversight. I believe by the time we are 50 years in democracy, other nations will also come to learn from us.”
Ryan had earlier in his address mentioned how lucky the Irish government was to have Nigerian residents in Ireland who are making their fair share of contributions to the growth of both nations.
PUNCH