Politics
Wither Democracy?
Nigeria is no doubt, a great nation and judging from its inception in democratic experience at the dawn of 4th Republic, the value of democracy has since withered. The meaning of democracy which is the government of the people, by the people and for the people according to Abraham Lincoln has been thrown overboard.
The political scene in the country is not healthy enough to encourage the growth of democracy and the leaders are not helping matters to mould the political future of the nation. No wonder today, Nigeria is operating a system of democracy in which the leaders think more of what they can get from the system rather than what they would give to improve the lots of the people. With the interest of the people not their primary concern, the latter are left with the direct burden of misrule or democrat which include unemployment, poverty and non-provision of social amenities amongst others.
To remove the interest of the people from governance is to remove the soul of democracy. Democracy believes in the people. It is centered on the people and as such desires to make the best for the people. It is only when the nation’s leaders embrace the true meaning of democracy that the dream of Nigeria can be actualised.
The hope of Nigeria’s democracy rests on the tripod of free and fair election, rule of law and enlightened electorate. Unfortunately, corruption has rubbished every sincere attempt to make democracy work in the polity. With a free and fair election, the mandate of the electorate is guaranteed to choose rightly who should lead them.
Nigeria’s democracy can not flourish where there is no rule of law. There is need for both the ruled and rulers to cultivate the right spirit of rule of law in governance.
While the issue of corruption remains a pain in the neck, it is disheartening that the polity is still a victim of tribalism. No Nigerian or section should claim the right to rule. Beyond sectionalism, leadership should be for people with great minds and dreams.
The existence of freedom of the press in Nigeria is another factor that can take democracy to another level. It is not enough to have the press but having the commitment of the press is all that matters.
The press, as it is rightly said is the mirror of the society and it is only when the press enjoy the freedom to operate that the ill or vices in the society can be brought to limelight. Therefore, for Nigeria’s polity to go farther than where it is today, the freedom of the press and the citizenry is imperative.
Politics in Nigeria, has great prospects if the minority are not left out in the strategic plans of the government in power. The government should carry the people along in its scheme of things.
The failure of the government to meet the basic needs of the citizenry have left many to doubt the responsiveness of the leaders to give the people a taste of good governance.
In the midst of unpalatable happenings in the polity, one is tempted to conclude whither democracy in Nigeria.
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.
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.
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.