Godswill Akpabio, the president of the Senate, has advocated for increased and improved cooperation between Nigeria and the United States, particularly in the field of legislative capacity building throughout Nigeria.
He made the call on Tuesday in Abuja while hosting a group led by David Greene, the Charge d’ Affaires for the US Embassy in Nigeria.
According to Akpabio, the US Democratic Institute and the US Congress in particular would be a focus of the 10th Senate’s desire for much closer cooperation.
“The Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 10th Senate will be looking forward to much more and better collaboration than what happened in the past, particularly when someone who firmly believes in democracy is participating,” he told his guests.
“I am a true democrat and I believe in American democracy. So I look forward to collaborating with you. Please link us properly with your Congress and the Democratic Institute in the US for us to have proper training and re- training in order for us to build capacity for our legislators in general.
“Not just in the Senate. Not just in the House of Representatives but across the nation. So I welcome you and I thank you for sparing the time and I assure you, on behalf of my colleagues, that we will do everything to intensify and bond seriously the existing good relationship between Nigeria and the US.”
Akpabio also described the US as a bastion of democracy in the world and expressed Nigeria’s desire to gain from her wealth of experience.
“This democracy that we are practicing, I think, America is a bastion of democracy in the world and every true democrat believes strongly in the American democracy.
“We also took our model from you. So we will like to gain from your wealth of experience in order to smoothen the edges of very young democracy.
“For American democracy to get to where it is today, I think, it must have taken you over 240 years. So for us, we believe strongly that this fourth Republic that we are in, has taken us just roughly under 25years…We need partners like you and America particularly has done very well for all democracies across the world,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, David Greene said the courtesy visit was to congratulate Akpabio on his election and on his emergence as the Senate President and also to introduce himself and express his aspirations that “we will be able to work together to achieve great things for both Nigerians and the American people.”
