The need for an all inclusive gathering was uppermost in the mind of the Chairman Senate Committee on Diaspora and Civil Societies when she conceived an interactive forum by members of the National Assembly and Stakeholders of the Civil Society held this time at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja. Senator Rose Oko who chairs the Committee on Diaspora and Civil Society did not minced her words when she welcomed the stakeholders to the exciting interactive session She said “This meeting is fundamental in many ways. It intrinsically offers the legislature and the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) a critical opportunity to come together and share ideas towards fashioning out a functional working relationship for the greater good of national development. This is germane because the legislature and CSOs pursue a common goal that borders on good governance and development. Interactive sessions of this nature therefore would have far-reaching impact on enabling the two institutions to establish a desirable synergy to drive and fast track our common objectives. Senator Rose Oko noted that the mandate bestowed on her committee has the propensity to strengthen the workings of the CSOs and deepen legislature-CSO collaboration towards the enhancement of shared goals of nation building and good governance. Recounting her Committee’s agenda for greater benefit Senator Oko highlighted; formulation of legislative and legal frameworks towards integrating CSOs activities into the national development plan as its number one cardinal agenda. In emphasising the good working relationship that exists between parliaments of other west African countries and their CSOs, She said “The Sierra Leonean parliament has consciously worked towards the democratization of the legal environment for CSOs to operate robustly by repealing certain specific laws from the country’s undemocratic past. CSOs registration framework has been simplified and unified by parliament to make CSOs registration more accessible through decentralization. She reassured the stakeholders of CSOs of the commitment of her committees to work with the CSOs individually and collectively for the enhancement of civil society operations in the country.
