Politics
Democracy Taking Stronger Roots In Nigeria – Dekor

Twenty – nine years after the June 12, 1993 General Elections, adjudged the freest and fairest in Nigeria, was anulled by the military junta of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, stakeholders believe that enough lessons had been learnt from that sordid political experience which has evidently shaped the very spirit and character of political transition in the country.
Without any pretence, Nigerians acknowledge the effects of that singular political decision on democratic transition in the country, and are more cautious against such political tendencies.
Key stakeholders and political players are of the view that lessons from the June 12 debacle had forestalled such instances of abridgement of the civic rights of Nigerians, as the populace is more adaptable to the rules of popular democracy and more vigilant over their civic responsibilities, while the ruling class is also awakening to how to use power without abusing it.
In the candid postulation and opinion of Rt Hon Dumnamene Dekor, member representing Khana/ Gokana Federal Constituency in the National Assembly on the chequered political development of Nigeria, Democracy is getting more consolidated and rooted in the country and should be protected.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt recently, Hon Dekor, a former Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, said the June 12 experience has become a focal point of sober reasoning in terms of democratic transition and political governance in Nigeria.
According to Dekor, Nigerians learnt great lessons from June 12 and came out of the experience with a resolute stance on populist participation in the process of governance as the sustainable foundation of the nation’s political growth.
”Democracy has come to stay in Nigeria, there is no better option for the development of the country than democracy. What we need to do is to tailor our democracy towards our needs. There is the need to strengthen our democratic institutions. Every society passes through challenging moments to get more strengthened. Nigeria has come of age to tackle its inherent socio-economic and political challenges. I’m happy over the reforms that are going on in the country. Today-we have an INEC that is prepared. There is hope for a brighter prospect of democratic experience where the people will play active roles; where the people will be able to exercise their statutory mandate and trust the outcome of the process”, he said.
Commenting further on citizenship awareness and participation in the democratic process, Hon Dekor said there was need for massive voter education of the populace by relevant agencies such as the National Orientation Agency (NOA), the Media, Civil Society Organisations, among others to rouse the people from their apathy and mobilise them against accepting seasonal political tokens from politicians in exchange of their liberty.
He observed that the visibility of the key mobilisation agency, the NOA, has been dismal and urged the agency to be proactive in the discharge of its statutory function.
“The bulk of the country’s population reside in the rural areas and there’s need for effective mobilisation for them to key into the stream of political activities. The NOA, the major agency vested with this responsibility is not doing enough in this regard. The impact of the agency has not been felt in recent times. Particularly, now we are in a political transition, they need to wake up to their responsibilities by embarking on massive campaigns and orientation of the people to participate in the process of political governance”, he pointed out.
Speaking on the just concluded party primaries across the country, Hon Dekor who is a stalwart of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the process so far has been interesting but there was need for more improvement to address some clearly identified lapses.
Using PDP primaries as a case study, he said at the state level, particularly in Rivers State, the party has remained focused and united in building concensus because of its formidable leadership.
However, at the national level, he noted a deviation from the letters of the constitution of the party which centres on zoning as a yardstick of balancing power equations.
Hon Dekor was also deeply concerned about the minority question in Nigeria. He said Nigeria as a federation of component units should respond to the imperatives of justice by devolving powers to the component units and not operate on a behemoth called federal government which is highly centralised.
“One of the greatest challenges of nation building is the minority question. The minorities in Nigeria have not been treated fairly despite their enormous contributions to the economic development of the country. Issues concerning the development of the minorities are treated with negligible attention.
“For example, the issue of soot emission in Rivers State which has caused grave environmental and health challenges has not unnerved the Federal Ministry of Environment, despite all the overtures of the Rivers State Government to get their attention to the malaise. This is unfair.
“There’s need for fiscal federalism and devolution of powers to the federating units. The centralised federal structure in operation is inimical to national development and growth as the minorities are always slighted in the distribution of the common wealth of the nation to which they are the major contributors”, the seasoned legislator said.
The federal lawmaker applauded Governor Nyesom Wike over his bold stride to challenge institutional flaws in the Nigerian federation as exemplified in the issue of Value Added Tax, (VAT) and other imbalances and usurpation of the fundamental rights of the states.
He said Rivers State should not only be seen as a political bride to be used to achieve vested political interests but should as well be given commensurate honour in terms of the state’s contributions to the economic development of the country.
In his assessment of the potency of the Legislative arm of government in Nigeria within the past years of the country’s democratic evolution, Hon Dekor said that Nigeria’s legislature has made remarkable improvement so far.
He explained that the Legislative arm of government had been the major victim of military dictatorship in Nigeria as they were always suspended and decreed out of existence while the Judiciary always existed as the defense forces assumed executive leadership.
According him such disbandment of the Legislature amounted to the total callapse of democracy, as the Legislature was the true repository of representative democracy.
He, however, expressed hope that years of uninterrupted democratic rule in the country have reinvigorated the legislative arm of government to play it’s statutory lawmaking role, noting that good governance thrives on effective and efficient legislative practices.
Hon Dekor identified external and extraneous influences as a major hindrance to the evolution of an independent parliament and recommended that leadership of the legislative arm of government be allowed to evolve internally without undue interference.
Asked his assessment of the Ogoni Clean Up Project by the Federal Government, the federal lawmaker who is the Chairman, House Committee on Host Communities in the House of Representatives said he would be able to make a formal comment on the state of the Ogoni clean- up venture after the exercise of the oversight function of the committee which would commence soon.
Commenting on the role of the Local Government as the closest tier of government to the people, he noted that the local councils owed the people a duty to ensure security and development of the local communities.
He commended the Chairmen of Khana and Gokana LGAs for their developmental strides within one year in office, particularly in the areas of security, youth empowerment and infrastructural development.
Hon. Dekor urged Local Government chairmen across the state not to rest on their oars but be proactive in dispensing governance to the rural areas and stimulating robust rural economies.
Hon. Dekor, who is seen as a man of intense grassroots involvement is the candidate of the PDP for a second term to represent the Khana /Gokana Federal Constituency in next year’s general elections.
He believes that his achievements and endearing attributes would earn him the mandate of the people for another legislative tenure.
By: Taneh Beemene
Politics
Reps Seeks To Retain Immunity For President Only
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed, through a second reading, a bill seeking to retain immunity for the Office of the President and remove immunity from the Vice President, the Governors and the Deputy Governors.
The bill was one of the 42 considered and passed through the second reading stage during plenary presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Benjamin Kalu, in Abuja.
Sponsored by Hon. Solomon Bob (Rivers PDP), the bill is seeking the amendment of Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution to guard against abuse of office and to ensure transparency in governance.
The long title of the proposed legislation read: “A Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to qualify the immunity conferred on the President, remove the immunity conferred on the Vice President, the Governors and their deputies, in order to curb corruption, eradicate impunity and enhance accountability in public office and for related matters.”
Key amendments include changes to Section 308 of the Constitution, which currently grants immunity to the president, vice president, governors, and deputy governors while in office.
The proposed bill will amend subsection 3 to ensure that immunity only applies to the President and the vice president when acting as President under Section 145 of the Constitution.
Additionally, a new subsection 4 will be introduced to make the immunity clause inapplicable if the office holder is acting in an unofficial capacity, engaging in actions beyond the powers of the office, or involved in criminal conduct.
“The bill seeks to foster transparency and strengthen the fight against corruption by making public officials more accountable for their actions, both in and out of office.”
“Section 308 of the principal Act is amended by:(a) substituting a new subsection (3) as follows: “(3) This section applies to a person holding the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Vice President only when acting as President, in line with Section 145 of this Constitution.
Creating sub section (4) thereto as follows:”(4) The foregoing provisions of this section shall be inapplicable where the person to whom this section applies is acting in an unofficial capacity or where the conduct of the person is beyond the powers of his office or the conduct is criminal in nature.
“This Bill may be cited as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) Act 2024.
The bill is currently awaiting further debate and consideration by the National Assembly.
Politics
Recall From NASS: INEC Confirms Petitioners’ Contact Details Receipt, Notifies Natasha
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has written to notify Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the senator representing Kogi Central, about the petition by constituents seeking her recall from the national assembly.
INEC said it has also received the contact details of the petitioners.
“Pursuant to section 69 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, I write to notify you of the receipt of a petition from representatives of registered voters in your constituency seeking your recall from the senate.
“The notification is in line with the provisions of clause 2 (a) of the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024.
“This letter is also copied to the presiding officer of the senate and simultaneously published on the commission’s website. Thank you”, the letter read.
The letter was signed by Ruth Oriaran Anthony, secretary to the commission.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Wednesday, INEC said it has now received the updated contact details from representatives of petitioners seeking to recall the senator.
In the statement, Sam Olumekun, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education, said a letter notifying the senator of the petition has been delivered to her official address, copied to the senate presiding officer, and published on the commission’s website.
“The next step is to scrutinise the list of signatories submitted by the petitioners to ascertain that the petition is signed by more than one half (over 50%) of the registered voters in the constituency. This will be done in the coming days.
“The outcome, which will be made public, shall determine the next step to be taken by the Commission. We once again reassure Nigerians that the process will be open and transparent”, Mr Olumekun said.
Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan had recently accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexually harassing her.
The allegation came in the wake of seating arrangement related altercation between Senator. Akpabio and the Kogi Central senator at the red chamber
She was subsequently suspended from the senate for six months for “gross misconduct” over the incident.
The constituents behind the recall move also accused her of “gross misconduct, abuse of office, and deceitful behaviour”.
The senator has denied wrongdoing and called the recall effort a “coordinated suppression” of her voice.
Politics
Bill To Upgrade Lagos LCDAs To LGAs Pass Second Reading
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the second reading of a bill to upgrade the Lagos State 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) to full-fledged Local Government Areas (LGAs ).
The bill, was sponsored by James Faleke, Babajimi Benson, Enitan Badru, and 19 other lawmakers.
The bill is titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to Accommodate the Thirty-Seven (37) Development Area Councils of Lagos State as Full-Fledged Local Government Areas, Increasing the Total Number of Local Government Areas in the Federation to Eight Hundred and Eleven (811), and for Related Matters (HB. 1498),”
Once fully enacted, Nigeria’s total number of LGAs will rise from 774 to 811, with Lagos overtaking Kano and Katsina, which currently have 44 and 34 LGAs, respectively.
Proponents of the bill argue that granting full LGA status to the LCDAs would bring governance closer to the people. The 37 LCDAs were created by President Bola Tinubu in 2003 when he was governor of Lagos State.
However, it’s worth noting that the Lagos State House of Assembly has been working on a bill to replace the 37 LCDAs with newly designated administrative areas.