Percy Onyeka
Members of the House of Representatives pushing for adoption of a parliamentary system of government on Thursday held a high-level meeting with the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) to get their support for the passage of the proposed legislation.
Speaking after over two hours of closed-door meeting, leader of the Parliamentarians, who doubles as Minority Leader, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, underscored the need for a paradigm shift from the current presidential system of government.
Both parties, at the end of the closed-door meeting, unanimously resolved to set up a committee that will review the proposed legislation to make inputs for the benefit of the country.
He said, “We are here in continuation of our attempt to get to Nigerians to explain further the bills that we have proposed on the floor of the House, which we expect will take us out of the present very laborious United States type of presidential system.
“But what we are looking at, yes, we have called it a presidential system, but it’s just a constitution review, a change of style that will reduce the baggage of government, a change of style that will make office holders more accountable.
“A change of style that will make government decisions arrived at easier and the execution carried out easier.
“A change of style that will make everybody in public office not to be a passerby, not to be sleeping but to be on his toes, and to be the best to our country, Nigeria.
“We came to meet the ACF to talk to them about this and to get their buy-in, just like we are also moving around to meet persons.
“We are also drawing from their wealth of knowledge because a lot of questions are being asked, a lot of suggestions are being made, and we are enriching our own knowledge, which will help us in lawmaking on the floor of the Parliament.”
On his part, Chairman, ACF Board of Trustees, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, who expressed delight over the initiative, assured the delegation of the forum’s readiness to provide necessary support.
He said, “We have just concluded a very engaging and fruitful meeting, and members of the House of Representatives, the group that is advocating for the return of parliamentary system of government.
“They have asked the Arewa Consultative Forum to sit with them, engage them, discuss the issues, and define ways to associate with and support them.
“But we have agreed that at the end, we are going to constitute a committee that will be working with these honourable members to look at the draft bills they have prepared and to also make suggestions and inputs that we hope will, in the end, be for the best benefits to Nigeria and our people, and the whole country in general.”
Speaking further on the proposed legislation, Alhaji Dalhatu, who acknowledged the ingenuity being brought to bare by the lawmakers and how the proposed parliamentary system of government would address all forms of agitation, said: “There are many opinions, and there’s a strong opinion that the presidential system of government has run out of control and is too expensive, and it’s not working very well. Therefore, it’s time for people and the government to start looking at better alternatives.
