Senate President Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday, tasked the management of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) to always make the outcome of it’s research studies available for the benefit of the National Assembly.
Sen. Lawan made this appeal while receiving in audience in his office a delegation from NIPSS led by its newly-appointed Director General, Prof. Ayo Omotayo.
The Senate President advocated an engagement between the National Assembly and NIPSS to enable the Legislature benefit from the research studies conducted by the Institute.
“I want to see an engagement with the National Assembly. An engagement that will make the National Assembly benefit from the research that NIPSS carries out.
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“How does the National Assembly or the Legislature in Nigeria benefit from what you are doing at NIPSS? Have you ever conducted any study about the Legislature in Nigeria or even the National Assembly when you find solutions after your research?
“I have never heard that you have given the National Assembly any report of that kind of strategic thinking of how National Assembly, an arm of government, can utilize those kind of very important research outcomes for us to make our legislations.
“I will really like to see that level of engagement where you carry the Legislature along in what you do in your researches, the outcome of your researches.
“We had so many roundtable discussions of various aspects of our lives: our economy, security, power and so many aspects just trying to look for solutions.
“We will like to see NIPSS partnering with us in those kind of areas and I’m sure you must have done a lot of researches on those areas. Maybe the reports have not been given to us so that we benefit from the kind of research you conduct.
“I believe that this is the moment to make NIPSS even richer in terms of resources because as a country, we have to have the kind of environment that will support and sustain 21st century economy.
“We want to know how you can help the National Assembly especially the relevant committees with the kind of resources that you use.
“You are coming at a time that a lot is expected from NIPSS in strategic thinking on public policy. I think we should be extremely practical with our policies and we should be looking inward. Our policies must be home grown policies that can see us defeating our challenges and sustaining development at such level that this country can achieve the potentials that it has,” Lawan said.
The Senate President congratulated Prof. Omotayo on his new appointment but added that: “our committee that screened you and the Senate that confirmed you expect a lot from you and NIPS and I will advise you that the relationship should not be largely based or limited to asking for more funds and that is where many Institutions and organisations get it wrong.
“When they come before the National Assembly, all they do is: we need more money, we need more money. It’s not about money alone. Money, yes. It facilitates but NIPSS as a research oriented agency, has a lot to do for this country.
“You are a special Institution. If we can have the resources, it will be our pleasure all the time to ensure that you get what will make you discharge your mandate. And we will try our best to fund NIPS but we also want NIPS to use it’s scarce resources in the best possible way, prudent, economic way possible.
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We need organisations like yours to provide possible solutions to our challenges and no investment in NIPSS is too much but what we expect if we give you more money is to provide more on better services. To whom much is given, they say, much will be expected.”
Earlier, Professor Omotayo said the courtesy visit was to seek the support of the Senate for more funding and to carry out necessary reforms at the Institute.
“Today, we have come before you to let you know that we will be requiring a lot of support in terms of funding, in terms of rejiging the law that set up the Institute and in terms of transformation and reforms so that we can reposition NIPSS to serve Nigeria and serve the citizenry in a better way such that we can come up with policies and strategies that will help our nation to be where it wants to be,” Omotayo said.
