Abbas Pushes For More Collaboration With German Parliament

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas has called for more collaboration and engagements between the Nigerian National Assembly and the German Parliament also known as the Bundestag.

The Speaker who gave the charge in Abuja during an interactive session with the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Annett Günther, urged Germany to emulate the United Kingdom in the advancement and sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.

The Speaker therefore stressed the possibility of strengthening the legislative relationship between Nigeria and Germany “in a similar way like the United Kingdom has been offering us by way of technical assistance.”

Speaker Abbas also disclosed that the House had concluded work on the formation of 40 international friendship groups “out of which Germany is one of the key countries,” which would have members of the Nigerian Legislature engaging with their counterparts in Germany and other countries.

While also addressing another issue raised by Ambassador Günther on women in governance and politics, Abbas noted that more members of the House were now interested in enabling more women in the parliament.

Mr. Abbas noted that apart from the existing House Committee on Women Affairs, the 9th House created the Committee on Women in Parliament as part of efforts towards empowering women to become lawmakers.

He therefore disclosed that the list of Committees as well as their chairmanship and membership would be released on Thursday.

Earlier in her remarks, Ambassador Günther noted that the visit was to “lay a new foundation” for the partnership between Germany and Nigeria, especially with the recent change of government in the West African country.

The Ambassador also noted that the relationship between the two countries dates back to the early days of Nigeria’s independence, stressing that “there is a lot of economic cooperation” between them.

Ambassador Günther also noted that beyond bilateral relations, Germany has provided humanitarian assistance to Nigeria, especially concerning the security crises in the North-East and the North-West of the country.

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji