Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help the ECOWAS Parliament boost efficiency, transparency, and oversight, an ICT expert, Dr. Christian Odo, has said.
Odo, Head of the ICT Unit at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), spoke Tuesday at the parliament’s 2025 Second Extraordinary Session in Port Harcourt. The weeklong seminar is themed “Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Parliamentary Efficiency, Ethical Governance and Development in the ECOWAS Region.”
He said parliaments are knowledge-driven institutions that process huge volumes of information — from legislative texts to budget reports and citizens’ petitions.
“AI can transform parliamentary work, from streamlining administrative tasks to enhancing research, improving public engagement, and strengthening transparency,” he said.
Odo noted that legislatures across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa are already deploying AI to improve decision-making. He urged ECOWAS lawmakers to follow suit to address the bloc’s challenges of limited resources, weak institutional memory, and oversight gaps.
The expert highlighted AI applications in legislative drafting, bill summarisation, multilingual translation, budget monitoring, and corruption detection. He added that mobile data tools and interactive dashboards could enable lawmakers to collect real-time field data, track policy implementation, and monitor resolutions.
“AI systems can track government spending, detect financial irregularities early, predict policy impacts, and monitor misinformation campaigns against parliament,” he said.
He stressed that investing in AI-powered tools and staff training would modernise lawmaking, enhance accountability, and build public trust.
“AI has the potential to transform parliamentary efficiency by automating legislative work, improving access to information, and enhancing citizen engagement,” Odo added.
