Subsidiary Legislations: Reps Partner PLAC, Justice Ministry To Train Legal Officers In MDAs
By Juliet Vincent
The House of Representatives Committee will in partnership with the federal Ministry of Justice and Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) to conduct a mandatory training for legal Officers responsible for subsidiary Legislations in various Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government to address the challenges of overlapping subsidiary legislations and Jurisdictional Conflicts.
Speaking to journalists on the planned training, Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Richard Olufemi Bamisile said, the committee will conduct the training for the officers in batches and will last for 10 months.
He described the training as essential and will guide the MDAs as regards their operations based on the laws in their establishment Acts.
He said, “As we all know, subsidiary legislations play a crucial role in the implementation of policies and the functioning of our government. Therefore, it is imperative that our officers are well-equipped to draft and develop this legislation in a manner that is clear, compliant and reflective of our shared values”.
Rep. Bamisile lamented that, the MDAs who by law are required to present any proposed subsidiary legislation to the National Assembly skip the legislature and present them to the ministry of Justice for gazetting.
According to him, the conflicts arise when such legislations encroach into the jurisdictions or responsibilities of other agencies due to duplication and lack of due diligence and recourse to the National Assembly.
Speaking, the representative of Ministry of Justice, Bar. Imarha Oghenenyerowo Reuben,
commended the Committee for the move to sanitiser the system by compelling the MDAs to abide by the provisions of the law.
He informed that, the ministry has been facing challenges on issues of overlapping legislations pitching MDAs against one another which sometimes leads to litigations.
He said, the ministry will work with the Committee and other stakeholders to address the issue.
On her part, the Senior Programme Officer PLAC, Miss Amah Iember stated that, overlapping jusrisdictions is a major concern and undermines the smooth operations of MDAs in the country.
