The Directorate of Legislative Budget and Planning of Nigeria’s National Assembly has completed a three-day capacity-building workshop designed to strengthen staff capacity in evidence-based legislative budgeting, policy analysis, monitoring, supervision, and responsible use of analytical tools.
The workshop, held in Abuja from Monday, August 31 to Thursday, September 3, 2026, focused on equipping participants with practical skills to apply evidence, data, and structured analysis to their legislative responsibilities. The training was facilitated by Cloneshouse, as part of its ongoing partnership and broader work supporting the Directorate to strengthen evidence generation, organisational capacity, learning, and evidence-informed decision-making.
According to Cloneshouse, effective parliamentary oversight requires continuous learning, relearning, and the ability to translate complex information into clear, actionable insights. The workshop therefore focused on key areas including budget scrutiny, value-for-money analysis, evidence-informed policy analysis, monitoring, outcome verification, data analysis, visualisation, and responsible use of artificial intelligence in legislative research.
Speaking during the programme, the training facilitator, Oludotun Babayemi, Director of Evidence and Intelligence at Cloneshouse, said the training was designed to move beyond traditional classroom learning. It combined technical sessions with practical demonstrations, case exercises, group work, peer learning, and the development of tools that participants could adapt to their day-to-day responsibilities.
He noted that the approach enabled participants to explore practical ways of analysing government budget documents, identifying expenditure patterns and risks, assessing economy, efficiency, effectiveness, and equity, and developing stronger questions for budget defence and legislative oversight.
A key component of the programme was the responsible use of artificial intelligence in legislative research and budget analysis. Babayemi explained that the objective was to help participants understand how AI can support tasks such as summarising documents, identifying key issues, reviewing evidence, and developing initial analytical questions, while keeping professional judgement, confidentiality, source verification, and accountability at the centre of the process.
The programme also enabled participants to develop practical resources, including budget scrutiny tools, value-for-money assessment guides, policy analysis and evidence verification templates, monitoring resources, data analysis frameworks, guidance on responsible AI use, and concise one-page briefing formats suitable for legislative decision-making.
“Effective capacity development should go beyond knowledge transfer to provide professionals with practical tools they can apply within their institutional workflows,” Babayemi stated.
In recognition of his contribution to the success of the programme, the Directorate presented Babayemi with an award for his role and value to the capacity-building exercise. According to the Directorate, the recognition reflected the quality, relevance, and practical value of the engagement, particularly its focus on equipping participants with analytical approaches and tools directly applicable to their legislative responsibilities.
Reflecting on the experience, participants highlighted how the training strengthened their confidence, improved their analytical workflows, and introduced practical tools they could immediately apply to budget scrutiny, policy analysis, and legislative oversight. One participant described the programme as “incredibly enriching, educative and thought-provoking,” noting that the tools and approaches introduced would make their work easier and more effective.
“The training moved us from old-school processes to tech-enabled budget analysis.” – Abba Dahiru Muhammad, Head of Program Analysis
“What used to take one to two weeks can now be approached within two to three hours using the tools and methods introduced.” – Jennifer Chinenye Okelue, Senior Budget Officer
“The training has strengthened our confidence as we prepare for the 2027 budget defence.” – Godwin Omaguha, Chief Budget Officer
“The programme helped move us from isolated practice to stronger team momentum.” – Mr. Frederick, Budget Analyst
Together, their reflections point to the value of practical, Tailor-made capacity building that is designed around real institutional responsibilities, workflows, and decision-making needs.
For Cloneshouse, the workshop reinforces an important institutional lesson: strengthening evidence use is not simply about producing more data. It is about building the capacity to question evidence, interpret information, verify results, communicate findings clearly, and apply insights to improve decisions.
The engagement reflects Cloneshouse’s broader approach to Tailor-made Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning capacity development. Rather than delivering one-size-fits-all training, Cloneshouse designs practical and institution-specific learning programmes that respond to organisational mandates, staff responsibilities, evidence needs, and real-world decision-making challenges.
Through Cloneshouse Foundation, which leads the organisation’s training and capacity-development programmes, Cloneshouse continues to support public institutions, development partners, civil society organisations, and private sector actors to build stronger systems for evidence generation, learning, accountability, and evidence-informed decision-making.
The story has also been featured in national newspapers, including Vanguard and Environ News. Read the publications here: Vanguard and Environ News.
To learn more about Cloneshouse Foundation’s Tailor-made capacity-development support for organisations, contact foundation@cloneshouse.com.
