.

To achieve this, the Speaker said, the House values citizens engagement because hearing directly from the people provides effective pathways to the formulation of impactful policies that address their critical needs.

The Speaker said these on Friday in Zaria at the Citizens’ Roundtable with the leadership of the House, organized for the Northern region. It was supported by the Ford Foundation through the Global Rights.

Represented by the Leader of the Northern Caucus in the House, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, who is also the Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), the Speaker said the House has expanded its citizens’ engagement to the geopolitical zones.

He said, “

he said.

Speaker Abbas stressed that having studied and identified the challenges of previous assemblies in actualizing people-focused agenda through adequate feedback mechanism, the 10th House decided to hear from the people directly.

the Speaker said.

He said the initiative, which began in December 2024, was borne out of the need for a shift in the legislative paradigm of speaking for the people to speaking with the people, with a view to cultivating their collective perspectives on issues of public importance.

Speaker Abbas thanked the people of Zaria Federal Constituency for trusting him with their mandate, saying that it is only proper to reciprocate their support by facilitating direct interactions where he can render accounts of his stewardship to them.

I am the Speaker of the 10th House today because of the Mercy of the Almighty Allah and the confidence that my dear people reposed in me.

“This forum now offers me an opportunity to say thank you to my constituents and also brief them on what I have been able to do for them in the past twenty-four months, some of which will be commissioned during my meeting with them tomorrow. I hereby invite you to join me to celebrate with my constituents tomorrow,” he said.

The event had in attendance representatives of Ministers, traditional rulers, the 19 Northern states, the Interfaith Council, civil society organisations, the academia, Farmer groups, market traders, students bodies, persons with disabilities as well as the Media, who expressed diverse opinions on the achievements of the 10th Assembly and the way forward on areas requiring actions and improvements.

Speaking at the event, the Programmes Manager of Global Rights, Mr. Edosa Eviarhe, said, “strong democracies are built on representative governance where the people have a say in how they are governed.”

He noted the expansion of the citizens’ engagement to include geopolitical zones was a noble idea that would make Nigerians to have the opportunity to be heard.

He urged the participants to bring out issues that they feel are critical to the growth and development of their communities to further enrich the focus of the legislative agenda of the House as the new legislative year commences.

There were goodwill messages from the representatives of the ministers of defence, power, and state for education, as well as the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kaduna State chapter.

The Ford Foundation, through the Global Rights, had on June 11 supported the House to organize the citizens’ roundtable in Abuja with a promise to do the same for the Northern and Southern regions. The one for the southern zone is in the works.