Gbajabiamila Rallies Support for NILDS at Reps Open Week

By Oluwakemi Kindness

Former Speaker, House of Representatives and current Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has called for stronger institutional support for the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) and the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, describing both as vital to the continued growth and effectiveness of Nigeria’s legislature.

He made the appeal on Tuesday while making his remarks at the 2025 open week, celebrating the 2nd legislative year of the House of Representatives where he also reflected on the growth and challenges of the House since the return to civilian rule in 1999.

“The National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies under Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, and the National Assembly Library Trust Fund, led by Hon. Henry Nwawuba, are both critical and must be supported and sustained,” he said. “They are the intellectual engines of the legislature and must not be allowed to fall behind.”

Gbajabiamila, who served in the House for two decades from 2003 to 2023, including as Speaker from 2019 to 2023, spoke with nostalgia and conviction as he reflected on what he described as a defining chapter in his life.

Speaking further, Gbajabiamila highlighted a growing concern with the rising expectation from citizens who expect legislators to deliver infrastructure and social services, tasks constitutionally assigned to the executive arm of governments.

“A member of the House of Representatives who is providing education, roads, healthcare and market projects is not going to be a legislator for long. That’s not the design of our Constitution, but political reality demands it.”

He warned that this disconnect—between what lawmakers are empowered to do and what the public expects them to deliver—creates a “recipe for dysfunction and resentment.”

“The appropriation process is the only instrument available to legislators to meet these demands, and yet they are criticized for budget insertions. We must resolve this contradiction or risk weakening the core legislative function.”

Meanwhile, he called for national support toward President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to strengthen local government autonomy, arguing that decentralizing service delivery would free legislators to focus on lawmaking, policy innovation, and oversight.

“If local governments work as the Constitution intended, then legislators can do the job they were elected to do. If not, we must consider formalising the additional responsibilities now placed on legislators, with appropriate constitutional backing and resources.”