Deputy President of the Senate Jibrin Barau has stressed the need for political office holders to undergo formal training in democratic studies in order to provide good governance.
Barau stated this when he hosted in his office, the Director General of The Progressives Institute, Dr. Lanre Adebayo, and his management team who paid him a courtesy visit.
He pledged that the Senate would support TPI, which was established by the current leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in its task of providing training to emerging young Nigerians on democracy.
Barau said being a beneficiary of a similar American institute established by the National Democratic Party, alongside many federal lawmakers, he would ensure that the Red Chamber provides necessary support to make the progressive institute succeed.
He said: “I was one of those that witnessed the unveiling of the Institute. And I’m one of the admirers and supporters of this institute and what it stands for. I am doing this wholeheartedly for several reasons.
“One of the reasons, of course, is that I’m a beneficiary of a similar institute from a foreign land. And since I went for a training programme at that institute, I’ve been praying that we have a similar body in Nigeria.
“So, when I heard the news through the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje), that this institute was coming on board, I was delighted.
“This is because I remember about 26 years ago, when I won the election to represent my constituency in the House of Representatives in the Fourth Republic.
“We were invited by the National Democratic Institute of the United States. Which is a similar body owned by the Democratic Party of the United States.
“That institute decided to come here to give us an intensive training with respect on how to go into the legislature of this country. Because at that time, there was a gap.”
Barau noted that Nigeria had a very long period of military rule after the end of the Second Republic hence the need for an institute to give intensive trainings to politicians and other Nigerians who are interested in politics.
He said: “There was a long period of time that we didn’t have a legislature in this country. Because of the military intervention in our polity then. So almost everything about the legislature was forgotten.
“It was the NDI who came and taught us, in the classroom style, on how to go into the legislature of this country and how to conduct ourselves. And we gained a lot from what we were taught.
“The training we got made us stand out amongst the set of legislators we have in this country. The legislators of the Fourth National Assembly were very much vast in the act of legislature.”
He urged the leadership of the institute to extend their activities to other political parties within and outside Nigeria.
He said: “I thank God I am the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament. So, I will also want to plead that you extend your tentacles to extend your tentacles beyond the confines of this country.
“Try to reach out to us. Even I know we have different ideologies. We have two conservatives within the legislators in the ECOWAS Parliament. You are going to be very useful. Please extend your tentacles to the ECOWAS Parliament.”
The Director General of The Progressives Institute, Dr. Lanre Adebayo, said the institute was established to strengthen the political community through capacity building on skills in governance and leadership.
