By Ifeizu Joe
The speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Somtochukwu Udeze has said there are number of laws in the State that are overdue for review.
He said such laws, even though they exist have become outdated and need to be reviewed by the assembly.
The Speaker stated this in his opening remarks during the opening ceremony of a four day retreat for the leaders and members of the 8th Assembly holding at Asaba, Delta State, with the theme: Strengthening Democratic Governance through constitutional reviews and budgetary oversight: The role of state legislatures.
According to the speaker, some of the laws were decrees inherited from military and have never been properly domesticated into democratic statute while some are incompatible with obligations under international treaties that Nigeria has ratified.
He noted that some are simply obsolete in a digital age which include the laws on data protection, community development, environmental regulation, and other on the rights of persons with disabilities plus many others.
“These laws among many others are those needing review, and that is part of essence of setting up a committee to look into it,” he said.
Mr Speaker added that the retreat aims at producing specific legislative targets and also empower the lawmakers with a roadmap on which laws they intend to review before the end of the legislative year, new bills they intend to originate from within the House, and what capacity support needed to accomplish things at the highest standard.
During the retreat, two former Clark’s of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Mr Pius Udo and Professor M. Umenweke made presentations.
While Udo spoke on: Budget Driven Oversight, Executive Perspective, Umenweke presented a paper on: Deepening Democratic Governance and Constitutional Reforms.
A Deputy Clerk of the Delta State House of Assembly also presented a paper on Budget Driven Oversight: a Legislative Perspective.
