▪︎Nigeria better of with bicameral legislature, Osunbor
▪︎Senate must be restructured if… Okorocha
▪︎Senate Status should be part-time, Oyofo
▪︎After more than 20 years, it has proved ineffective and expensive
▪︎Senators should mirror the reality of life in their various constituencies, Oshiomhole
▪︎As Politicians Converge on Abuja to Remember Lamai, first Republic Senator
Former and serving Senators have disagreed sharply on what should be the status of the National Assembly, to wit: whether it should be full time or part time.
Not only that, the point at issue also centred on whether the legislature should be unicameral or bicameral.
Former Senator Victor Oyofo, former Governor of Edo State and a past Senator, Professor Osarhiemen Osubor, Senator Umar Gada and Senator Rochas Okorocha spoke either for a part-time Senate in order to save the cost of running the National Assembly or the need to remain as full time as well as the urgent need to restructure the Upper Chamber if the idea behind legislature must be achieved.
The occasion was the Senator Ekpemoriri A. Lamai Memorial Lecture in Abuja.
In his remarks as the Chairman of the Memorial Lecture in Abuja with the theme ‘Nigerian Senate and the Quest for Nation Building: 1st-4th Republic., the former Chief Whip of the Senator, Senator Victor Oyofo who noted the expensive nature of running government in Nigeria especially the National Assembly, however, made a serious case for part-time memberhip of the National Assembly as well as a Unicameral legislature as against the present system of bicameralism.
Lamai, a First Republic Senator from Fugar, Etsako Central Local Government Area, Edo State, passed on May 14, 2009.
The event organised by the Senator E.A. Lamai Foundation, had in attendance, former Chief of Staff to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe; former Governor of Edo State and Senator-elect, Edo North Senatorial District, Adams Oshiomhole; former Governor of Imo State and senator representing Imo West Senatorial District, Senator Rochas Okorocha; and former Minister of Works and Housing and former Senator representing Borno North, Senator Sanusi Daggash.
Also in attendance were the Senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, Senator Francis Alimhikhena; a former Senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, Senator Victor Oyofo, former Chief of Protocol, Ministry of Federal Capital Territory Administration, Sir Peter Aliu, amongst others.
Oyofo, who noted Nigeria adopted the presidential system copied from America, but does not have the institutions that support the successful running of the presidential experiment, quoted #openNass, which stated that in 2017 alone, the lawmaker cost the taxpayers 54,000 each.
On how the country has performed since the return to democracy in 1999, Oyofo said, “to be successful in this exercise, let us remember that the Romans began the Senate. It was a parties occupation and also citizens were appointed into this chamber. Such were appointed by the councils or magistrates who after serving their tenure were elected into the chamber.
“We adopted the Presidential system coming from America, but we do not have institution that support the successful running of this political experiment. Therefore, the legislative arm which was suppose to check the executives and indeed its democratic arm failed to mature or keep up to its objectives. After more than 20 years, it has proved ineffective and expensive.
“According to #openNass organisation, in the year 2017 alone, a lawmaker cost the taxpayers $54,000 each this is 10,000 times more than the minimum wage and 200 times the National Gross Domestic Product per capital.
“The cost are rising as we speak. The administrative cost of the Presidential system which includes the 36 Governors and the running of FCT, leaves very little for the development of the people.
“This leads to unemployment, insecurity. The trend should.not be allowed to continue.
If it continues, it will create unsommountable problems that will consume the nation.
“It has become obvious that politics is the quickest way to an unearned wealth. The situation was exercibated by immunity clause which allows governors to be immune from closer examination. Many for example have treated their security votes which amount to billions as pocket money.
“They also subsumed the local government Councils and their allocations. Finally, most of the governors after they given heavy retirement pension for themselves, work their way to the National Assembly as senators where they enjoy their retirement in opulence.
“This trend is not unnoticed by the populace, even if they appear hopeless and speechless. Common sense would say that events we are growing as they are already manifesting in the killing of citizens and insecurity.
“A change of direction is imperative. Look at the infrastructure where they exist at all are decayed. Electricity is not go area, jobs are not available. Industries which existed before are decayed.
“What the senators must do now is to examine the country critically, and the Presidential system that we have adopted without any cloud in their eyes.
“They must have the courage to chat a different course all together and restructure the country for productivity and continuation for joy and happiness and for purposeful existence.
“There is nothing sacrosanct in the Presidential system moreover as it is suitable for us as a people and as an African. We need a system that brings justice closer to the people and also administration closer to the people.
“A situation a minister is appointed by a president and is not accountable to political party is injurious to the wellbeing of the people.
“We already have e the six geo-politival zones. This should be formalised as the federating units. The internal architecture of each zone should left to the people in the zone so that they can set up their own administrative units with the.ind to put the development of the people foremost.
“In the interim, the National Assembly should chart a new course and the Lical Government Council should be reduced to at least 50 per ent based on their ability to generate their own independent income.”
But the former Governor of Edo State, Senator Oserheimen Osunbor who did agree with the position of Oyofo, said that the nation is better off with a bicameral legislature than a unicameral legislature.
Osunbor who disagreed with him, said that it was not the budget of the National Assembly that has been responsible for the magnitude of the challenges confronting the country, just as he stressed the importance of the Senate to democracy, saying it was what gives the states equal representations.
Osunbor who noted that the Senate, being part of the legislative arm of government, has the distinct feature of being the arm of government that is closest to the people, stressed that the constituents, the public, has easy access to their senators than they would have to their governor or even the president or vice president or deputy governor.
He said, “So, the Senators are more accessible to the people. They are closer to the people, more accountable to the people. And as the professor has said, the senators represent a bastion of democracy. They are the engine room, the think-tank of democracy.
“And it is good because the legislature, perhaps, is the first amongst the three arms of government because for the executive to function, there must be laws that are passed by the legislative arm of government and of course, the judiciary interprets laws that are made by the legislative arm, of course, in addition to the constitutional provisions which are not exclusive to the Senate.
“The importance of the Senate, as he said, the legislature and by extension, the Senate which is an important arm of the legislature, is that it serves as checks and balance over the executive arm of government. And this is very important. It is very important, particularly in a country like Nigeria, to have a Senate as against just having a House of Representatives. I make this point because many Nigerians express the view that the Senate is unnecessary, that we need a unicameral system of only the House of Representatives. Part of their reason is that it will save cost and the chairman of the occasion alluded to this fact in his address that we need to save cost. But I differ for a number of reasons from this view. First is that how much really is the budget of the National Assembly in comparison to the budget of the Federal Government? I understand that it is only about 2.5 percent of the total budget. So, even if you consider it, 2.5 percent of the national budget really is not a reason that we are having the problems of the magnitude that we are having in Nigeria.
“The point I am making, in short, is that the Senate is very important in the sense that even in the constituencies, it gives opportunities for communities and the constituent units of the senatorial districts, the states, and even the country to have a fair chance of representation.
“It will ensure, for instance, in one senatorial district, why the senator is coming from one part, the House of Representatives Member may come from another part and that will tend to douse agitation about marginalisation. And also, the Senate is on the basis of equality of states because if you were to rely only on the House of Representatives, which is usually by population, again, there will be agitations that parts of the country with states with higher population are oppressing states with lower population. So, having a Senate counter-balances that by having equality of states, while the House of Representatives is on the basis of population.”
Earlier, Osunbor who said that Senator Lamai played his part in nation building during the First Republic and since then, successive generations of senators have been playing their part, stressed that “Even the incoming tenth National Assembly Senators have their own role to play in nation building. It is a continuous exercise ”
On his part, former Governor of Imo State, Senator Okorocha who noted thaft it was better to restructure the Senate than embrace a unicameral system of legislature, said, “As a former governor and as a sitting senator, I have gone through the executive and I have gone through the legislature and I can tell you that one, if Nigeria must have a Senate, the entire structure of the Senate must change.”
Okorocha further said that the Senate and the Executive were too heavy for Nigeria, which was why he objected to the population of the Senate two weeks upon resumption at the National Assembly.
But Speaking with journalists after the event former Governor of Edo State and Senator-elect, Edo North Comrade Adams , Oshiomhole who noted Nigeria had huge economic crisis, with huge debt burden, huge numbers of expectations, huge numbers of unemployed, said that it was the duty of Senators to mirror the reality of life in their various constituencies and allow the realities to inform their attitudes and policy choices that will be available.
Earlier, another panelists, Senator Abubakar Umar Gada who represented Sokoto East from 2007 to 2011 said that the problem was not the structure, but corruption which has become endemic, just as he said that the budget of the Senate was just 2.5 percent of the National budget, adding that the problem with the country is the breakdown of moral values.
Delivering the lecture titled ‘X-raying the Nigerian Senate (1st-4th Republic) as a Tool for Nation Building,’ Chief Mike Ozekhomhe (SAN), said that the Nigerian Senate holds a crucial position as the upper chamber of the country’s bicameral legislature, actively shaping the nation’s political landscape and policy framework.
Ozekhomhe said “Throughout Nigeria’s history, from its first Republic to the present day, the Senate has served as a significant platform for national deliberation, legislation, and representation.”
Earlier in his address of welcome, the Executive Director, Senator E.A. Lamai Foundation, Chief Richard Lamai who noted that the Senate and other legislative arms were the only distinctive organs differentiating other forms of government, said, “As our nation enjoys uninterrupted period of participatory democracy in this 4th Republic, it is apt to analyse the effect of democratically derived legislation and policies by the senate on the development envisioned by the likes of my father, Senator E.A Lamai through this lecture by eminent experts in jurisprudence, constitutional, commercial law, executive and renowned business gurus.”
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