The Directorate of Inter- Parliamentary Relations and Protocol is a key component of the National Assembly’s bureaucratic structure. It is responsible for promoting Nigeria’s interests, fostering international cooperation, and enhancing the National Assembly’s global standing. The Directorate’s four Departments; International Parliamentary Organisations, African Parliamentary Organisations, Nigerian Legislatures, and Protocol work together to:
Through its work, the Directorate support the National Assembly’s efforts to:
The National Assembly currently belong to; Inter-Parliamentary Union(IPU), Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Africa Parliamentary Union, Pan African Parliament, Organisation of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific States ECOWAS Parliament Parliamentary Union of Islamic Conference and Association of Senate, Shoora and Equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab World. The following members of the National Assembly serve in various capacity at different parliamentary organizations
Sen. Godswill Akpabio – Member IPU Executive Committee
Sen. Jibri Barau – First Deputy Speaker of ECOWAS
Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu – Chairman, Monitoring and Finance Affairs
Hon. Zainab Gimba – Chairperson, CWP international
Hon. Tolulope Sadipe – CPA Regional Representative for West Africa
Hon. Mark Udo Esset – CPA Branch Representative for Nigeria
In addition to the above, several members of the National Assembly serve as chairmen and members of Standing Committees and Rapporteurs of various parliamentary organisations.
It is instructive to highlight that funding constitutes a major challenge militating against the effective functioning of the Directorate as its role appears not to be fully understood.
