AKPABIO AND PARLIAMENTARY DIPLOMACY

The re-election of a new IPU President presented an opportune moment for Nigeria’s National Assembly, as pointed out by Nigeria’s Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio. At the 153rd Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly held in Arusha, Tanzania, Akpabio showcased his parliamentary diplomacy skills. He tactically leveraged his parliamentary resources to garner support for Australia’s Speaker of the House of Representatives, Milton Dick, who ultimately secured the position with 56% of the votes following a three-way contest.

Dick was set to succeed Dr Tulia Ackson, the Tanzanian Speaker, who had completed her three-year term.

The significance of this development extends beyond the newly-elected President. It highlights Nigeria’s diplomatic efforts in backing Dick’s candidacy, rallying parliamentary allies around a unanimous choice, and the potential for transforming these relationships into enduring national and continental influence. Akpabio, who also serves as the Chairman of the National Assembly and a member of the IPU Executive Committee, played a crucial role in this process.

His position within the organisation allowed Nigeria to exercise a platform to shape its direction and forge connections across its membership.

Prior to the election, Dick had paid a visit to Abuja to seek Nigeria’s backing, which Akpabio readily granted and promised to advocate for Dick within the African Group of the IPU. This diplomatic engagement also aimed to strengthen Nigeria-Australia cooperation in various fields, such as mining, agriculture, education, renewable energy, technology, security, and capacity building.

The engagement exemplified the concept of parliamentary diplomacy where influence is often exercised even before a vote is cast. It involved consultations, building confidence, identifying shared interests, and bringing stakeholders together in a common conversation. In multilateral institutions, where countries possess competing priorities and perspectives, the ability to facilitate consensus can prove to be highly consequential.

Nigeria's backing and commitment to mobilizing African support were integral to this process, and this initiative should be acknowledged without attributing the outcome to any single nation. The importance of this initiative lies in Nigeria’s willingness to transition from institutional presence to deliberate engagement: taking a position, reaching out to partners, and aiding in building support for it.

The relevance of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to Nigeria is practical. Issues such as peace and security, migration, climate change, economic inequality, technological disruption, and democratic institution protection cannot be effectively addressed solely through domestic legislation. They necessitate international collaboration, a domain in which parliaments contribute through legislation, oversight, representation, and the exchange of policy experiences.

The deliberations at the Arusha Assembly were reflective of this broader purpose. The Assembly’s theme centered on enhancing good governance and empowering communities through inclusivity, trust, and opportunities for all. This theme connected international parliamentary dialogue to the everyday responsibilities of legislatures, emphasizing the need for public institutions to respond to the people they represent.

Nigeria's pursuit of mobilizing support through the African Group of the IPU played a crucial role. With 52-member parliaments, the Group offers a substantial platform for continental cooperation. However, it should not be misconstrued as an automatic voting bloc or agreement on every issue. Nigeria's size, regional relationships, and multilateral engagement experience provide a basis for contributing to such coordination.

Nevertheless, leadership within a continental grouping must be earned through consultation, credibility, respect for other members, and a willingness to pursue shared objectives beyond individual contests.