In Ekiti State, many citizens respect the law but they do not feel close to how laws are made. A bill can go through first reading, second reading and public hearing in Ado-Ekiti without farmers in Ikole, students in Ise, or traders in Ikere ever hearing about it until it starts affecting their daily lives.
The problem is not that our people are not interested in governance. The problem is that legislative information is still kept in formats and places that are not accessible to the average Ekiti kete.
My policy idea is a law that makes legislative accessibility a duty of the Ekiti State House of Assembly.
What this law would do is require that every bill, motion and public hearing notice is simplified into plain English, Yoruba, Ekiti dialect and made available not just on the Assembly website but through community radio, local government secretariats, town hall meetings, campuses and verified social media platforms. It would also mandate that public hearing dates are announced at least two weeks in advance and that summaries of proceedings, including who attended and how members voted, are published within days for citizens to see.
This is necessary for Ekiti because we are a small, closely-knit state where trust matters. When people see and understand the process, they participate, and when they participate, laws become more responsive to real needs like youth unemployment, farm access, quality of education and rural development. It will also reduce rumour and build confidence between the Assembly and the communities it serves.
If Ekiti prides itself as a state of knowledge and character, then our laws must be knowledgeable to the people and our legislature must show character by opening its doors to the people.
13 comments
We are rooting for you
Excellent 👍
The kind of policy we want 👍
Let the bill be passed
Nice one
Good one brother
If we're being fair with ourselves, a law should be well spelt out to the people, and the language it's spelt out with also matters. So I support this proposal, it's a logical one
Well done, you did a great job
Well said. But most of our people no longer have interest in their leadership and any policy they put on the people. Laws and policies are now seen as the product of the will of the leader not the masses.
Let our leaders and lawmaker implement policies that favour the people, then will we all find means to access it.
This is long overdue, all laws should be taken to the grassroots, and be properly interpreted in Ekiti language to the citizens that ain’t conversant with English language. By doing this, it will make all indigenous Ekiti people to be inclusive in the affairs of their state. If elections can be done in Ekiti language, the laws should also be interpreted to Ekiti language.
This is long overdue, all laws should be taken to the grassroots, and be properly interpreted in Ekiti language to the citizens that ain’t conversant with English language. By doing this, it will make all indigenous Ekiti people to be inclusive in the affairs of their state. If elections campaign can be done in Ekiti language, the laws should also be interpreted to Ekiti language
This is a very brilliant idea, this will enable law to be well understood are the grassroots
This is kind of brilliant idea our people need to understand the law and abide by it. Bringing law to the grassroots
Well said. And I think this should reflect in all states of the federation not just Ekiti. The people at the grassroots deserve to know what is happening up there. Transparency is key.