Senate Leader Michael Opeyemi Bamidele has called on lawmakers to place greater emphasis on the implementation and measurable impact of legislation, arguing that the success of a law should be judged by the public value it delivers rather than the number of bills passed.
Bamidele made the call while delivering a lecture titled “Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Governance Through Pro-Active Law Making: The 10th Senate as a Case Study” to participants of Senior Executive Course 47 at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Plateau State, on Thursday.
He said the legislature must move beyond counting bills passed to assessing whether laws address real problems, can be effectively implemented and improve the lives of Nigerians.
“The Legislature should not simply ask: ‘Did we pass the law?’ It should ask: ‘What happened because we passed the law?’ That is the more important question,” he said.
The Senate Leader stressed that passing a law was only the beginning of the legislative process, noting that lawmakers must strengthen oversight to establish whether implementing agencies are performing their duties, whether funding is adequate and whether citizens are benefiting from the legislation.
He also called for stronger links between lawmaking, appropriation and oversight, warning that policies without adequate resources could fail to achieve their objectives. According to him, lawmakers should determine the cost of implementation, identify funding sources, assign responsibilities and establish measurable outcomes before passing major legislation.
“A law without resources may become merely declaratory. Conversely, a budget without an adequate legal and policy framework may produce fragmented spending,” Bamidele said.
He advocated evidence-based legislation, wider stakeholder consultation and greater use of research, economic impact assessments and policy analysis before bills are introduced. He added that not every problem required a new law, as some could be addressed by amending, consolidating, simplifying or repealing existing legislation.
Bamidele also proposed a stronger partnership between NIPSS and the National Assembly, alongside executive institutions, universities, the private sector and civil society, to improve legislative research, policy forecasting and post-legislative reviews.
He urged participants to help build a governance culture that prioritises implementation, measurable outcomes, public value and citizens’ welfare over announcements, procedures and numerical outputs.
