The National Women Leader, National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum, Ambassador Ayoola Fakunle, has sponsored and facilitated a capacity building programme for female legislative aides as part of efforts to improve legislative efficiency and productivity.

Speaking with journalists at the end of the training in Abuja, the NASLAF Women Leader said she facilitated the capacity building programme, considering the critical roles legislative aides play in lawmaking processes and other legislative duties.

In a statement released in Abuja yesterday, Ambassador Fakunle stressed that regular training of legislative aides was essential in order to keep them at par with their counterparts across the globe. According to her, legislative aides remain an indispensable component of the legislature, noting that the effectiveness of lawmakers largely depends on the quality of support they receive from their aides.

“I organised the training programme to enable the aides acquire more knowledge in view of the critical roles they play in lawmaking processes. “It is important to note that the quality of a lawmaker’s performance depends greatly on the quality of the support staff, particularly legislative aides.

This informed my decision, as the NASLAF Women Leader to organise this training for our female aides. “This is to further enhance the knowledge and experience they have acquired over the years,” she said. Ambassador Fakunle explained that part of the training focused on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), stressing that the global shift towards digital operations makes it imperative for legislative aides to stay technologically relevant.

“As the world continues to embrace digital solutions, we cannot afford to be left behind,” she added. She disclosed that, as a form of encouragement, participants were provided with working materials, including tablets gadgets, to support them in the discharge of their official duties.

In a related development, the NASLAF Women Leader also sponsored the payment of West African Examinations Council (WAEC) registration fees for some indigent students in some select secondary schools in Kwara State whose parents could not afford the cost.