Open Parliament: The House of Representatives Misses Deadline to Develop an Interactive Website

In recent years, campaigns by different Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) globally have focused on championing open and transparent governance across all tiers of government. This has become important as citizens continue to find viable ways of holding elected public officials accountable as the debate about inclusive democracy deepens. The 10th Assembly of the Nigerian House of Representatives has also recognised this and has pledged to advance an 'Open Parliament' where citizens follow through the activities of the parliamentarians online from different parts of the country.

Open parliament is gradually becoming a standard practice across the world as more countries commit to an open governance initiative that is championed by the Open Government Partnership (OGP). According to the Open Government Partnership (OGP) ensuring "access to legislative information and creating mechanisms for public participation and accountability are critical to building an open, trusting relationship with citizens."

It is against this backdrop that the Rt. Tajudeen Abbas-led House of Representatives has promised to "develop a dynamic and interactive website for the House of Representatives and integrate the existing Speaker's website to better engage with the public and publish activities of the House" according to the published legislative agenda document released by the house. This pledge aligns with the CSO's and citizen's call for open parliament which provides them the opportunity to monitor the activities of their elected representatives. The promise has two major components; one, to create a new website for the house and to integrate the existing speaker's website.

Neither of this has been done. The pledge is one of the short-term pledges listed in the legislative agenda document, which means the deadline set for its fulfilment, December 2023 has passed. While the existing Speaker website provides weekly updates of the current speaker's activities, a deep dive further into the website shows that many other parts of the website are outdated. Important information on the Legislative Agenda remains unchanged as the website still shows the 9th Assembly Legislative Agenda. Also, the Office of the Speaker tab which shows the 'About the Office' and 'The Speaker' still shows information about the previous speaker, Rt Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.

While there is a ‘Speak to Speaker’ section on the website which allows the public to engage only the speaker’s office, there is still no action evident on creating a ‘dynamic and interactive’ website that will better engage the public and publish the activities of the house as of February 2024. The public is still not able to engage their representatives and follow through with their activities digitally.

We therefore rate this Promise Broken.