By Olasunkanmi Akoni
Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress (AC) has commended the decision of the state House of Assembly to take sittings of the House round the 57 local councils of the state, describing the  move as innovation that would certainly bring governance and the law making process nearer to the people.

The party’s state Publicity Secretary, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, in a statement said the experiment, which is coming from such a pace-setting centre of excellence as Lagos, stood to take governance to the grassroots and give the people the needed opportunity to make input into law-making and bring the people’s representatives closer to the people they represent. It, therefore, recommends the initiative to other states in Nigeria and in fact, the federal level.

According to AC: “We identify proudly with this noble initiative of the Lagos State House of Assembly in their desire to take the business of lawmaking closer to the people who are the main stakeholders in a democracy. We identify with this noble initiative, being yet another spectacular fruit of democracy that can only come from our noble party and the creative thinkers that people it.

“The initiative has really decentralised governance to ensure that the people become part of law-making, acquaint themselves with their representatives and get to know how to track them. At a time governance and the people that participate in it are getting increasingly alienated from the people, it is a welcome idea for the members of the Lagos State House of Assembly to decentralise its sittings to the local councils so that the shroud of mystery that encases law-making should be ripped open and the process laid bare for ordinary Lagosians to participate.

“We recommend the initiative of the Lagos State House of Assembly to other state legislatures, local government legislatures as well as the two chambers of the National Assembly if they are desirous of meeting the expectations of the people from them,” the party said.

The party noted stressed that laws become much more effective when they derive from the participation of the people. Such participation can best be guaranteed by taking the law-making process closer to where the people stay, which is what the Lagos State House of Assembly is doing by this wonderful initiative.

“We laud the Lagos State assembly and urge it to continue showing the way for what the process should be as the present Fashola regime is doing for the entire country presently.”