Democratic governance returned to the country in 1999 against the background of several challenges, one of which was a highly weakened parliamentary institution in Nigeria.
The impact of the capacity building activities of the Institute take a special significance given the high rate of turnover of legislators since 1999.
The Institute has consistently worked on developing partnerships, identified new funding opportunities and implemented several capacity building and outreach activities in collaboration with its partners.
These included African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNDP-Democratic Governance for Development (DGD), the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA), The Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH), UN Women and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Foundation.
The Institute also secured NBTE approval and commenced the HND programme in Parliamentary Administration and Official Reporting in 2018.
National Assembly staff, legislative aides and others from government ministries and the private sector have benefited immensely from these programmes.
In addition to such regional conferences, the Institute has also planned and undertaken trainings and exchange of experience visits for several African parliaments that include Uganda, Somaliland and Ghana.
Policy work is at the heart of the Institute's mandate and NILDS has carried out annual budget analysis for the National Assembly.