The National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies(NILDS) is engaging the International Monetary Fund as part of efforts to close the existing knowledge gap and provide continued technical support to the Nigerian legislature.
This was the outcome of a meeting between the Director General NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman and the IMF Mission Chief/Senior Resident Representative for Nigeria, Africa Department, Amine Mati in Abuja today.
The Director General of NILDS while acknowledging the critical role the IMF has played over the years in providing policy advice, governance frameworks among others in Nigeria, urged the IMF to partner relevant democratic institutions such as NILDS, through technical cooperation and interventions in capacity building so that they can effectively assist parliamentarians and strengthen Nigeria’s democracy.
“Incidentally, most of the legislators in the 9th National Assembly are relatively new and hence, the need for the various Committees – members and support staff – to enhance their skill so that that can productively, engage the relevant MDA’s during oversight,” he noted.
Earlier the IMF Mission Chief/Senior Resident Representative for Nigeria, had assured that, the IMF has redefined its strategies, providing broad-based and inclusive growth.
“IMF has changed from its position in the 1980’s, providing policy advice that can strengthen dialogue, engaging with Parliaments and Civil Society Organizations in the Country. We look forward to this collaboration with NILDS,” he enthused.
A technical committee, comprising both staff of NILDS and IMF, is expected to work out the fine-details of this partnership in the week ahead.
The meeting, which was attended by a technical team of the NILDS as well as representatives of the multilateral agency is expected to establish a sustainable cooperation between NILDS and the IMF.
