Tag Archives: Legislators

#OccupyNASS: Protest against corrupt legislators enter second day

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The main entrance of the National Assembly on Wednesday remained shut as youth protest against corrupt politicians enters day two.

This has affected movement of vehicles through the main gate as lawmakers and staff can only access the complex through alternative routes.

The protest, led by a socialite and activist, Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, is seeking a downward review of salaries and benefits of politicians in the country by about 70 per cent.

The protesters are also clamouring for the sentencing to death of public officials found guilty of stealing public funds.

They are also seeking a cessation of state and local government joint accounts.

One of the protesters, Miss Joy Amadi, said that the protest is a welcome development.

Amadi said the need for accountability in governance prompted her to join the protest.

She said, “Occupy NASS is a protest against corruption, political criminality, and a long period of bad leadership.

“However, just as the current government stands out to fight corruption, we also want to join hands to make Nigeria a corrupt-free nation.”

According to her, politicians have for a long time continued to extort from Nigerians through fat salaries and frivolous allowances.

Another protester, Mr. Ignatius Adeleke, stated that the campaigners are committed to the protest until the leadership of the National Assembly considers their demands.

He said, “We will not leave this place until our demands are met; we have suffered for too long while our politicians are living in affluence.

“We will not take it anymore; there has to be a change in our attitude.”

Similarly, a staffer of the National Assembly, who prefers to remain anonymous, commended the conveners of the protest and urged more Nigerians to join the campaign.

He said, “I wish the conveners well and I am hopeful that we will have more Nigerians, who will walk the talk and not just grumble on the streets.”

30 Year Old & 25 Year Old Hong Kong Legislators Defy Barring Order

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Hong Kong’s legislature has descended into chaos after two young pro-independence lawmakers defied a barring order and barged into the chamber as democrats formed a human chain around them, forcing the session to be adjourned.

At a swearing-in ceremony two weeks ago, Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Leung modified their oaths in an act of defiance by using a derogatory word for China. Yau also slipped in an expletive.

After Yau and Leung of the Youngspiration party entered the Legislative Council’s main chamber on Wednesday, surrounded by other legislators and dozens of journalists, the body’s president ordered them to leave, but the two refused.

After half an hour, the session was adjourned until next week.

The two legislators insisted they had the right to enter the chamber to retake their oath of office. Council rules state that members cannot attend meetings or vote before they take the oath.

The two were part of a new wave of youthful pro-democracy lawmakers elected in September amid a rising tide of anti-China sentiment, with many residents concerned about Beijing eroding Hong Kong’s wide autonomy.

“If we lose this war … our system is done for. We have no room to retreat,” said Leung, tears welling in his eyes.

The democrats called on Andrew Leung, council president, to step down, while Yau accused him of “destroying the dignity” of the council.

Nathan Law, a new legislator who advocates self-determination for Hong Kong, said that while he may not endorse the pair’s behaviour when they first took their oaths, they should be allowed to sit as elected legislators.

“What we are trying to protect is people’s rights to vote, and Hong Kong’s legislative system,” Law said.

Read More: aljazeera

Effective Communication Skills Essential For Legislators – Clerk

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Mr Ganiyu Abiru, the Clerk, Lagos State House of Assembly, on Thursday said legislators needed effective communication skills to be successful.

 
Abiru made the remark at the quarterly capacity building forum for Assembly staff, which had the theme: ‘The Roles of Communication in Institutional Management’.

 
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the seminar was held at the Lateef Jakande Auditorium of the Assembly Complex, Alausa, Ikeja.

 
“The work of a legislator is to talk, and if you don’t know how to effectively communicate, you cannot effectively discharge your duties as a legislator.

 

“So, any officer saddled with legislative responsibility must have good communication skills.

 
“Communication is key in any given institution and it must be unambiguous, succinct and clear, so as not to give room for misinterpretation,” Abiru said.

 
Commenting on importance of feedback in communication, the clerk urged private organisations to allow workers to have unions, for effective communication between the management and staff.

 
He said, “some organisations have outlawed unionism, but in public organisations, we have them. We don’t hamstrung unionism.

 
“Unionism is another good means by which management of any organisation would engage in effective communication with the workers for the overall interest of the organisation.
“Unions of today are not combatants, they are partners in progress; they represent the interest of the people and also the mouthpiece of any organisation.”

 
Delivering a lecture on the theme, Mr Fesus Otabor, the Director of Publication of the Assembly, enjoined the legislators to make use of Hansard of the House.

 
He said that such verbal report would enhance feedback and effective communication.

 
Otabor commended the leadership of the House over the recently conducted Town Hall Meetings in all the 40 constituencies in the state.

 
“Such forum is one sure way of using communication as a tool for effective governance,” he said.

 
Otabor said many institutions were having it rough not only due to paucity of funds or academic incompetence of their managers.

 
According to him, failure to establish an effective communication system that allows free flow of information within and outside their institutions is also a contributory factor.

 

 

 

(NAN)