Dep. senate president pledges bill to upgrade NILDS to university

Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, has promised to sponsor a bill to upgrade National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) to a specialised university.

Jibrin ​‌‌‍​‍⁠⁠‍‌‌‌‍⁠‍⁠‍‌​made the pledge while representing Senate President Godswill Akpabio at the 10th post-graduate convocation of NILDS and University of Benin (UNIBEN) on Monday in Abuja.

Speaking in his capacity as deputy senate president, Jibrin said the proposed university would serve Nigeria and the West African sub-region.

He said the institute’s infrastructure, expertise and resources had provided a strong basis for its transformation into a full-fledged university that would specialise in legislative and democratic studies.

“I informed the director-general that I would sponsor a bill to facilitate the transformation of NILDS into a full-fledged university.

“As the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, I recognise Nigeria’s important role in the West African sub-region.

“I believe a specialised university for legislative and democratic studies would serve not only Nigeria but also the entire sub-region.

“The headquarters of the ECOWAS Parliament and the ECOWAS Commission are located here in Nigeria. Establishing such a university would further strengthen our contribution to regional cooperation and integration,” he said.

Jibrin expressed the confidence that, with the necessary legislative processes completed, the bill would receive the president’s assent and enable the institute to attain university status.

“When we consider the institute’s infrastructure, personnel and resources, it is clear that we must build on the achievements already recorded to develop it further,” he added.

The deputy senate president urged UNIBEN to sustain its partnership with NILDS, stressing that the proposed transformation would not end the existing academic collaboration between both institutions.

He commended the NILDS Director-General, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman, for his leadership and achievements, while congratulating the institute and UNIBEN on the 10th convocation of their collaborative post-graduate programmes.

According to him, the collaboration has contributed to the development of specialised post-graduate education and training in legislative and democratic studies.

The senator urged the graduating students to apply the knowledge acquired through their academic programmes to national development and the promotion of effective governance.

He said the knowledge gained should be regarded not merely as an academic qualification but as a responsibility to contribute meaningfully to the society.

Jibrin also commended the convocation lecturer, Prof. Etannibi Alemika, for his presentation on state police, saying the lecture addressed concerns shared by Nigerians and members of the academic community.