Date: 2021-01-06

The Kwara Stste House of Assembly Service Commission says plans are ongoing to automate legislative activities at the state House of Assembly. The Chairman of the commission, Femi Yusuf, made this known to newsmen on Monday in Ilorin.

Yusuf said that operations of the Assembly needed to be digitised. According to him, we need to go to the next level; going to that level means we have to put some structures on ground so that legislation can be done anywhere and make it easy for both legislature and executive. "What I have in mind is a situation whereby while we are doing the legislation, everything will be automated. "The process of voting and passing bills on the floor of the House will be automated.

"Although, it may be found strange in the history of lawmaking, it is doable. "Kwara is one of the first generation states that we have in this country, so, we have to be in the forefront. "If we are able to bring in the idea and some other things, I know it will put Kwara back in the map of the leading states in the country. "That is our objective. But, we still need to do some findings and research," the chairman said.

He said the commission in the history of the state Assembly, inherited a virile assembly under the management of the Speaker, Hon. Danladi Salihu and Clerk, Hajia Halimah Kperogi.

"On assumption of office, all of us are aware that it is a pioneer commission that is just coming on board; it gave room for us not to rush things. "We have to settle down and study things, moreso, the commission was not allotted fund in the 2019 and 2020 budgets. So, that limited our activities.

"But, having said that, it does not mean we are not doing anything; I want to commend the House of Assembly that we met when we came. "The Assembly led by Salihu has been using his well-endowed experience to marshal affairs of the House in a peaceful way," he said. Yusuf also lauded the Clerk of the House, describing her as, "well endowed in terms of management of Assembly".

"So, I will say that the structure I met on ground is faultless, that almost everything has been done according to laid down rules. "Only to fulfill the constitutional provision or the edict that provides for the commission to take care of staff welfare and Assembly men that made it important to create the commission.

"But, notwithstanding locally, what is on ground is water-tight. What we are doing now is to look around and see how we can bring in new ideas," the chairman said.

Yusuf said that was why he planned to go and understudy some other House of Assembly Service Commissions that had been in existence such as the Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission and National Assembly Service Commission. "We have to be there to see what they are doing that we are not doing here," he said.

Yusuf said that the commission would also inject new innovations from its observations outside the country