Members of the 8th Delta State House of Assembly (DSHA) have been told to live above board in the drive for excellence in leadership and governance of the state.
Speaker of the House, Hon Dennis Guwor, in his opening remark at the four Day Post-Induction Retreat for the lawmakers Tuesday in Asaba, said the retreat is an offshoot of the pre-inauguration induction training of members which took place in Abuja between the 8th-12th of May, 2023.
Guwor explained that as the representatives of the people and as strategic partners, they are expected to play pivotal and active roles in government, noting that the government can only utilize the resources of the State as appropriated by the legislature.
Disclosing that training and capacity building of members have been firmly mainstreamed into the work plans of the 8th Assembly, the Speaker said the retreat would provide the lawmakers with necessary insight on how best to navigate complex governance issues in the course of their legislative duties.
“As legislators, you need more than common sense in applying the Standing Orders and Rules of the House, as well as your approach in oversight function in Committees’ assignments. The strategy and skill sets for informed and meaningful debates, ditto other legislative functions, must be deliberately learnt,” he said.
The Acting Clerk of the House, Oto Aghoghopia, while welcoming the Speaker and members, said the experience of the training was enormous and that many useful observations and recommendations were made during training sessions.
The Clerk noted that the management of the House took cognizance of the observations and dutifully passed them on to the leadership of the 8th Assembly.
Aghoghopia expressed the hope that the leadership of the House, through the ongoing retreat, will address some of the strategic areas of legislative practice and procedures.
