Assert independence of legislature, OrderPaper tells Akpabio

OrderPaper, a media organisation reporting the activities of parliament, says Godswill Akpabio, senate president, should assert the independence of the legislative arm of government while dealing with the executive.

The admonition was contained in a statement on Friday by Oke Epia, founder of OrderPaper.

Epia said the election of Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu as speaker and deputy speaker, is proof that lawmakers are conscious of the attributes of competence and performance in leadership choices.

“Assert the independence of the legislature while working with the executive arm of government to deliver the dividends of democracy,” the founder charged.

“Both legislators, it should be recalled, were officially recognised as semi-finalists in the selection of inductees into Nigeria’s first-ever Most Valuable Parliamentarian (MVP) Hall of Fame at an impressive ceremony which was held on May 21 in Abuja.

“While Hon. Abass was recognised for having the most assented bills in the 9th House, Hon. Kalu got recognition for the valuable and impactful bills he sponsored.”

Epia said his organisation is ready to collaborate with the national assembly to promote service delivery and legislative accountability.

“OrderPaper will soon deploy bespoke digital tools across its platforms to enable legislators better interface with constituents while empowering citizens with the capacity and requisite data to track the performance of legislative mandates,” he said.

“These tools are geared towards helping us fulfill our mission of bridging the gap between people and parliament.”