By Dele Ogbodo
The National institute for Legislative and democratic Studies (NILDS) on Wednesday said that it is fine tuning technical support framework with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to close knowledge gap in Nigeria’s parliament.
Mr. Kanayo Nwajei, in a statement, said this was the outcome of a meeting between the Director General of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman and the IMF Senior Resident Representative for Nigeria, Africa Department, Amine Mati in Abuja.
The DG acknowledged the critical role IMF has played over the years in providing policy advice and governance frameworks in the country.
He urged IMF to partner 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 assured that 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 CSOs in the country.” He said.
A technical committee of NILDS and IMF, is expected to work out the fine-details of this partnership in the week ahead.