Speakers from South-east Want Better Law Collaboration

House of Assembly speakers from the South-east are asking for better teamwork and the unifying of laws in their states. They believe this will help with service delivery for everyone.

The speakers shared their thoughts during a zonal meeting of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria. This meeting took place in Awka on Saturday.

The Anambra State House of Assembly hosted the conference. The theme was "Legislative Review and Standardisation of Procedures Across South-East States: The Need to Redefine a Better Relationship."

Somtochukwu Udeze, the Speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, said that working together would help state legislatures share and promote the best practices in the region. Udeze, who is also the zonal vice chairman of the conference, believes legislative cooperation should go beyond just talks. He wants it to be structured and institutional.

"This is capable of facilitating comparative review of laws, legislative research, development of model bills and joint consideration of issues that have regional implications," he explained. He added that it is time to change the way the five South-east states relate. He wants it to be more than just political meetings.

Udeze said that the cooperation should set minimum professional standards. This would ensure that the constitutional independence of each legislature remains respected. "It may not mean outright uniformity; it means to agree on a minimum professional standard below which none of our legislatures should operate," he said.

He pointed out that differences in laws between states should not make it hard for businesses, traders, and residents to operate smoothly in the region. "A trader moving from Aba to Onitsha should not encounter five completely different regulatory standards simply because they have crossed a state boundary," he noted.

Udeze emphasized that areas like environmental regulation, transportation, trade, investment, digital governance, waste management, and emergency response need better legislative coordination.

He also urged for stronger checks after laws are made. This would help see if the laws are effective and if they meet their goals. "Our responsibility is not simply to make laws. It is to make laws that can stand the test of constitutional scrutiny, administrative reality, and time," he stated.