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ABUJA – Members of the Kano State Caucus in the House of Representatives have emphasized the need for professional legal counsel to support their constitutional role in lawmaking.
This call was made during a meeting with representatives of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Nigeria, Kano State Chapter, held at the House of Representatives in Abuja on Tuesday.
Speaking at the meeting, the lawmakers underscored the importance of leveraging expert advice, particularly from lawyers, to ensure that the laws they draft and deliberate upon are comprehensive, enforceable, and in alignment with constitutional provisions.
Addressing the visiting female lawyers, the leader of Kano and Northern Caucus in the House, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa noted that, despite their experience as members of the National Assembly whose primary responsibility is making laws, there is a gap which only a close working relationship with lawyers can fill to make their work easier.
He said, “Those of us that are here, we are called lawmakers. But while we are making laws, definitely we will expect fine and brilliant brains like you to be helping us with some impudence. That is all.
“In the legislative process, a critical and invaluable stage is the public hearing. This platform provides an opportunity for stakeholders and citizens to engage with proposed laws and policies. Beyond public hearings, members of the House maintain constituency offices in their respective local governments to foster closer connections with the people they represent.
There are also multiple channels through which professionals, particularly those in the legal field, can engage with their representatives. Your expertise and insights can significantly enhance our performance as we strive to serve the broader interests of the constituents and the nation at large.”
“When we have experts and professionals like you, who are well-versed in the legal sector and actively collaborate with members of Parliament, we ensure that our critical duty of lawmaking is carried out to perfection.
I have served in the House of Representatives for the past 34 years, having been elected six times, day in and day out. However, I do not consider myself the best legislator. Above all, I pride myself on one thing, I am not a liar.
“First, I acknowledge that I am human, and like anyone else, I cannot be perfect on my own. The distinguished gentleman sitting here before me has now been elected to the House for the fourth time. While he undoubtedly has areas of excellence and remarkable performance, there remains a gap, particularly in the area of legal expertise. It is this gap that we look to professionals in your field to help us bridge, bringing your knowledge and skills to complement our efforts.
“Today, you have come at a very coincidental period, a very incidental period, when the constitutional review process in the National Assembly is ongoing. So, we will expect you to start to use the opportunity from there.
“I do this with all sense of humility and respect for the profession, but I charge you, people, to also promptly interface and continue to collaborate with this caucus by way of giving us some of your insight, how you look at some of the legislation. The PIB, for instance, which has now been passed into law in 2021, is now subject to a lot of contemplation and controversy. Look at the PIA.
“Where do you think we have gaps? Where do you think we’ll have to come and make contributions? Virtually all that you have in the body of the laws of the Federation, they are viewable. They are not cast on stones. So it is only on the basis of some of this kind of contribution that you give to us that we can be able to also make a contribution”.
Earlier, the Chairperson, FIDA, Kano State Chapter, Bar. Bilkisu Suleman informed the lawmakers that, FIDA is an international body of professional lawyers and legal professionals who offer free legal services to less privileged, other support services and advocacy.
She said, “All of us that are into FIDA will have our primary responsibilities, but we allocate some time within a week, within a month that we dedicate our services for the promotion of the rights of women and children. So I want everybody to understand that we are not charging for whatever services we are doing.
“We are paying advocacy visits to ensure that legal issues or access to justice are promoted in our society. We are following up on cases of maybe interpretation of laws or application of laws that will promote and preserve the rights of women and children. We are rendering legal services that are in the courts or mediation or even sensitization throughout our constituents.
“For example, we have branches, we have members all over. Whenever issues come, we go to, even last week, we have a case in after we did a lot of promoting the name of the village, I sent a lawyer there. So we have BG, all over.
“Whenever a case comes, we send our members to go and handle cases. Just I was sitting here, there was a case that somebody called me, we need to send somebody to a village. So it’s not only metropolitan that we handle cases.
“We render mediations because normally when you know, the issues we are handling are very sensitive. The issue of women, children, fathers, wives, and husbands, is not something that is supposed to be handled in the court because whoever wins is moving. There will be some kind of discomfort between the parties.
“So even if the case is before the court, we seek the indulgence of the court to permit us to bring the case back to our office and mediate so that there will be peace in the family. There will be peace and tranquillity. So this is what we are doing.
“And you know our society, things are very, very complicated, especially in terms of the issue of this poverty that is aggravating our society. And we all understand that each and every one of you is doing his best to ensure that he renders his primary assignment and promotes the general welfare of society. So our words cannot be undermined in thanking you and appreciating your effort and praying for you to improve more”.
