By Adamu Yusuf
A bill seeking to transform the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) into a full-fledged university serving Nigeria and the West African sub-region has scaled first reading in the Senate.
The bill, titled West African University of Legislative Studies (Establishment) Bill, 2026 (SB. 1087), sponsored by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, passed the first legislative stage during plenary on Wednesday, two days after he announced plans to sponsor the legislation.
Senator Barau, who is also the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament and Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, announced the proposal on Monday while representing the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, at the 10th Convocation Ceremony of the NILDS–University of Benin postgraduate programmes in Abuja.
He also disclosed that he had begun discussions with the Director-General of NILDS, Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, on modalities for the proposed transformation.
In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir, Senator Barau said the proposed university would build on NILDS’ existing infrastructure and institutional capacity to strengthen legislative practice, democratic governance and regional integration.
He added that Nigeria’s hosting of key ECOWAS institutions, including the Parliament, Commission and Court of Justice, positioned the country to establish a regional centre for legislative capacity building and democratic development.
The Deputy President of the Senate said the proposed university would provide legislators and other stakeholders across West Africa with specialised knowledge and skills in legislative practice, governance and institutional development.
He expressed optimism that the National Assembly would pass the bill and that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would assent to it, paving the way for the establishment of the regional institution.
Editing by Khadija Kubau
