The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi has backed the efforts of 60 members of the House of Representatives pushing for the establishment of a parliamentary system of government.
This was as he expressed support for the ongoing nationwide consultation for the adoption of a home-grown system of government.
Oba Ogunwusi expressed his support in Abuja while addressing a delegation led by the Minority Leader, Hon. Kingsley Chinda and Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki, who solicited for his counsel, blessings and support for the three proposed bills which seek to restructure elections at Local, State and Federal levels.
Speaking earlier, the leader of the delegation, Hon. Chinda, who expressed grave concerns over the challenges facing the country, said the ongoing consultation was aimed at getting the contribution of critical actors in the project.
He said, “If we try the Local Government system and it works, we graduate to the stage where members from the State Assembly among themselves elect a Governor. If that works, while that is happening, we are looking at the faults, the problems, the loopholes and we keep making consequential amendments to our law before we get to the national level.
“So, that’s why we are looking at 2031 for the presidential, then we would have tried the local government, we would have tried the state and then before we come to presidential. If there’s a need and Nigerians think that look, we need to put A, B, C in place, we will have time to do all that.
“But your Majesty, what we have come like I’ve said earlier, is to seek your consent, seek your blessings, seek your advice and tap from your wealth of knowledge.”
Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki also expressed optimism on the ongoing consultation, arguing that the move towards a parliamentary system of government would help address various concerns raised by all Nigerians.
He said: “We as parliamentarians are saying system – parliamentary system of government. I think there’s no better time to put our words into action than now. So your Majesty, we are here on behalf of the 60 of us that have started this very important journey, together with you and all Leaders…”
In his response, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, who showered encomium on the Parliamentarians, expressed the need to create healthy competition among the six geopolitical zones in the bid to effectively harness and unlock the country’s huge natural and human resources.
Oba Ogunwusi described the current system of government as accidental, stressing that the mix of parliamentary and presidential systems of government pioneered by the late Azikwe and other early politicians was short-lived during the military incursion into democracy.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
