Nigeria's Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has called for stronger parliamentary cooperation between Nigeria and Australia. He made the call when he received Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, Milton Dick, who paid a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Senate in Abuja. Akpabio emphasized that closer ties between the two legislatures would deepen bilateral relations and provide greater continuity in engagements between both countries.
Akpabio noted that Nigeria and Australia share several institutional and democratic similarities despite their geographical distance. Both countries are Commonwealth nations, federal democracies with bicameral legislatures, and multicultural populations, while also possessing substantial natural resources. These similarities provide a solid foundation for expanded cooperation between the two nations.
The senate president said that the common features between Nigeria and Australia provide opportunities for both countries to learn from each other and strengthen relations beyond traditional government-to-government engagements. He proposed that the next frontier in Nigeria-Australia relations should be parliamentary diplomacy, stressing that relations between nations should not be left entirely to governments and diplomats.
Akpabio emphasized that parliaments represent the people, and stronger Parliament-to-Parliament relations can give bilateral relations greater continuity and depth. He commended the Australian initiative to establish the Australia-Nigeria Parliamentary Friendship Group and urged both countries to build on the initiative through regular legislative exchanges and institutional engagements.
The senate president proposed exchanges among legislators and parliamentary staff, cooperation between committees, and regular dialogue between the presiding officers of both legislatures. He described Dick's visit as an opportunity to renew the longstanding friendship between Nigeria and Australia, recalling that Australia's diplomatic mission in Nigeria was established in September 1960, shortly before Nigeria attained independence.
Earlier, the visiting Australian speaker, Milton Dick, said that when he decided to run for the presidency of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), he was told that he had to come to Nigeria to understand Africa. Dick described Nigeria as the heart of Africa and expressed appreciation for Nigeria's leadership on the continent.
Dick thanked Akpabio for his support and promised to be a friend to Nigeria, whether he is elected or not elected as the president of the IPU. Akpabio welcomed Dick to Nigeria and expressed confidence that his visit would further strengthen relations between the two countries.
Key points
- Akpabio calls for stronger parliamentary cooperation between Nigeria and Australia to deepen bilateral relations.
- Nigeria and Australia share similarities in their democratic systems and institutional frameworks.
- The proposed parliamentary diplomacy aims to give bilateral relations greater continuity and depth.
