Press Release: Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, to deliver 6th Annual Oputa Lecture at York University in Toronto

Posted by admin Headlines, Legislature, Senate Friday, April 6th, 2012

by ADMIN on Apr 5, 2012 • 10:50 AM 3 Comments

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu is scheduled to deliver the 6th Annual Oputa Lecture on Governance in Africa, an annual lecture series organised by the York University, Toronto, Canada.

According to information made available to IMO STATE BLOG by his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu, the Lecture which will dwell on the topic: “Nigerian Federalism: A Case for a Review”. The event will take place on April 11, 2012 at the instance of the Osgoode Hall Law School and the Nathason Centre for Transnational Human Rights, Crime and Security, both of the York University.

The Press Release further disclosed that the Invitation Letter addressed to the Deputy President of the Senate stated that the lecture will “provide a forum in which Africans who are involved at the highest levels with governance on the continent or who have distinguished themselves in the study in this broad thematic, can interact and exchange ideas with the York University community and the larger Canadian audience, to the mutual benefit of both Canada and African societies, on the challenges and triumphs of governance on the continent.”

The Oputa Lecture series is named in honour of the Honourable Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, one of Africa’s most prominent jurists, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and most recently the Chairman of the Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission also known as the Oputa Panel.

Further information contained in the Press statement disclosed that Senator Ekweremadu expressed hope that “the Sixth Oputa Lecture would help Nigeria and Canada draw from each other’s history and experience in federalism”, saying that both nations have so much in common as federal states and members of the Commonwealth family.

His words:

“In a continually globalising world, every nation should be open to global best practices and be able to tap from other nations’ experiences and areas of comparative advantage, hence the import of this lecture at a time Nigerians are working hard to deepen our democracy and strengthen our federalism”,

It is worthy to note that the Osgoode Hall Law School is Canada’s oldest, largest, and leading law school.wp_posts