PUBLIC HEARING ON A BILL TO ESTABLISH NEW ENUGU MANAGEMENT AGENCY ORGANIZED BY THE CO-CHAIRMAN, JOINT COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE ON HOUSING, LANDS, AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, ENVIRONMENT, CAPITAL TERRITORY DEVELOPMENT, JUDICIARY, PUBLIC PETITION, ETHICS ANDPRIVILEGES – HON OKEY MBAH
Participatory governance is one of the major pillars of democracy. Law making is often predicated on effective inclusiveness of the people in legislative decisions for good governance and development. The Deputy Minority Whip and the Chairman of House Committee on Housing of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon Okey Mbah, demonstrated this canon of democracy by inviting the general public to participate in framing the bill that may metamorphosize to law on the NEW ENUGU MANAGEMENT AGENCY.
He organized the public hearing on the bill with his colleagues in the House wherein the Deputy Speaker, Rt Hon. Ezeani Ezenta represented the Speaker of the House to elicit the participatory contributions of the public. The public hearing was held at the main chambers of the House of Assembly on Thursday, 25th January, 2024.
While making his opening remarks, the Deputy Speaker commended the Committee for organizing the public hearing and extolled the virtue of participatory democracy in policy and law making of the government. He urged all participants to contribute meaningful for a better bill from the House. He assured the participants that whatever input made shall be given adequate attention. He thanked all participants for coming.
Hon Okey Mbah
The Chairman of the Committee and Member representing Nkanu East Constituency in the House, Hon Okey Mbah, in his concluding speech expressed gratitude to the Governor of Enugu State for making it possible that proper separation of powers thrives in all spheres of governance in the State. He thanked the Speaker who gave approval for the public hearing. The law maker said that the NEW ENUGU MANAGEMENT AGENCY bill was still at the second stage, hence the need to get the input of the public, particularly the stakeholders of developmental democracy.
The Chairman was happy with the calibre of participants and assured all that the bill shall be given unbiased and urgent considerations vis-à-vis the wonderful and insightful inputs made by the participants. In furtherance, the Legislator said that public hearing was a legislative tool for better law making anchored on representative and participatory democracy. According to him, the law is made for man not man for the law, therefore, as the House bears the symbol of representative, the law emanating from the House ought to be the true yearning of the people.
The Parliamentarian, insisted that his stewardship as the Chairman of the House Committee shall be to proactively encourage public and his colleagues so that laws emanating from his Committee shall be thoroughly scrutinized by the all concerned to effect sustainable law based on sustainable development.
Stakeholders from different institutions, communities, LGAs, etc participated in their numbers. They made various inputs and commended the Committee for inviting them and accepting their inputs as a part of their legislative instrument on the subject matter.
