TEXEM UK, a UK based firm founded by British – Nigerian, Dr Alim Abubakre, has praised the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) for winning the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) Innovation Award.
Abubakre in a statement on TEXEM’s website said the award, presented to the Director General (DG) of NILDS, Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman was “giving honor to whom honor is due”. He said Sulaiman has been recording successes since his appointment as DG of NILDS which made it possible for his reappointment for a second tenure.
The award was presented to Sulaiman after the 2023 general elections through a letter signed by Mr Michael Nevin, WFD Regional Director for Africa which is part of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
The decision to select NILDS for the award was taken at the quarterly review meeting of WFD in London. It came out of the partnership between NILDS and WFD for the Inclusive Political Parties Programme, an initiative of Sulaiman to promote good governance.
“This is in recognition of WFD Nigeria and NILDS use of an elections command centre on the elections day to bring attention to the issue of inclusivity by political parties.
“Political parties have an important role to support broad based democracy in Nigeria, yet studies show that potatoes have yet to fully reflect the potential of women, young people, people with disabilities and other communities,” Nevin stated in the letter.
He added that the use of press conference, streaming, and online interviews with experts cleverly capitalized on the attention given to the election to highlight the issue.
Nevin asserted that the innovation of Sulaiman with respect to the Inclusive Political Parties Programme, set the scene for WFD and NILDS research work to be used as the basis for further post election engagement.
The regional director commended the partnership between NILDS and WFD Nigeria adding that he looked forward to the two organisations further supporting Nigeria’s democracy.
Prof. Abubakar Sulaiman The Director General, National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies is also a Professor of Political Science and International Relations.
He is a former Minister of National Planning, former Director, Institute for Legislative Studies, University of Abuja, former Director, Centre for Peace, Leadership and Development Studies, University of Abuja.