Abuja, Nigeria:Liberia’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Professor Al-Hassan Conteh, has provided a briefing on Liberia to participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course of the Nigerian Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Abuja.

The lecture, which included History and Governance, Foreign Policy, Liberia-Nigeria Relations, Economy, Investment Opportunities, Executive-Legislative Relations, Culture, among others, was held recently in the auditorium of the ISS in Bwari, Abuja.

The ISS is operated by the Department of State Services (DSS) of Nigeria.  Its curriculum includes country briefs on security and strategic topics whose effective management provide leadership lessons useful to the participants and Nigeria.

This year’s theme, for the participants travelling to Liberia, is “The Interplay of Executive-Legislative Relations in Liberia and How This Impacts on Development, Security and Other Strategic Issues”.

A release from the Liberian Embassy in Abuja says 52 participants drawn from 20 public agencies undergoing the ISS’Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 10 are expected to undertake study tours of Liberia, Ghana, Togo and Senegal this month.

A delegation of 16 participants is scheduled to depart Abuja for Monrovia on July 4, to embark on a one week study visit to Liberia.

The team to Liberia aims to research the relationship between the Executive and Legislative branches of the Government of Liberia and its impacts on development, security and other strategic governance issues, the release adds.

On Executive-Legislative Relations in Liberia, the Ambassador explained the several coordinate and coequal functions and activities of the Legislature and Executive branches as provided by the Liberian Constitution both in theory and practice.

The Liberian Envoy also lectured on the country’s Foreign Policy, whose guiding principles, he said, are the maintenance of national security, preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country, the promotion of peace and harmony based on the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, and cooperation in the international community based on the virtues of democracy.

He described as excellent Liberia-Nigeria relations, as evidenced by the strong bilateral partnership in development, security, and regional cooperation between the two nations.  “President Muhammadu Buhari, his administration, and people across the spectrum of Nigeria take great pride and inspiration from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s record as the first democratically elected female African President, who has worked assiduously to turn around a war torn country to a post-conflict success story with political stability, sound economic growth and resilient peace-building,” he stressed.

He then recalled the revival of the Liberia-Nigeria Joint Commission in 2014, which intends to boost much needed trade and investment activities between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Dr. Abdulwahab Wali, Deputy Director for Studies at the ISS, in his vote of thanks, lauded the Liberian Envoy for the lectures.

According to Dr. Wali, the Ambassador’s Country Brief Lecture solves 90% of the problems in particular of the participants travelling to Liberia. He added that the Ambassador’s lecture, in general, also provided a rare opportunity for the other teams traveling to the other three countries.

“With this type of Country Brief Presentation by Ambassador Conteh, I am convinced that the team travelling to Liberia will achieve its goals”, Dr. Wali remarked.

At the end of Ambassador Conteh’s presentation, Mr. Adamu A. Dodo, Deputy Director of Research who heads the team to Liberia, presented him with a plaque as a mark of the institute’s appreciation.