Service Delivery : Speaker Reiterates Commitment To Capacity Building

By Oduyemi Odumade

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Abbas Tajudeen has reiterated his commitment to prioritise capacity building for members and staff of the house to ensure effective service delivery.

Dr. Abbas made the pledge in Abuja at the opening of a 2-day workshop titled: ‘Improving the Effectiveness of Legislative Aids’, organised for legislative aides in the office of the speaker.

The workshop was organised in collaboration with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, PLAC, with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Represented by the Clerk to the House of Representives, Dr. Yahaya Danzaria, the Speaker explained that the house is ready to engage development partners to provide targeted capacity programmes for members and staff.

“Capacity building is a major motivation for productivity in any establishment. It is my avowed commitment to ensure that capacity building is a major hallmark of my tenure as speaker not only for staff but also for members of the House of the Representatives.

“I want to take this opportunity to urge you to take every opportunity for training very seriously; the success of any establishment is dependent on the capacity and output of the drivers of that office.

“Today, you are the face of the speaker’s office. You are the ones that members and visitors interface with in the office of the Speaker.

“Your conduct, your disposition, your relationship with people, and the way you attend to the public represents the image of the office of the speaker.

“Therefore, you must continuously learn the code of ethics and public service rules in engaging yourselves in the course of discharging your responsibilities,” he said.

The speaker commended PLAC for the sponsorship and for many other interventions they have rendered to the house over the years.

Earlier in his remarks, the Executive Director of PLAC, Mr Clement Nwankwo, said that the training was aimed at keeping staff of the office of the speaker abreast with the workings of the office.

He said the staff are the first contact with the people coming to the office and need to understand how to respond to issues.

Edited By Grace Namiji