A socio-political group that strives to strengthen good governance through effective parliamentary representation at the National Assembly, Parliamentary Advocacy Network, PAN Nigeria, has lauded the position of the President-Elect, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu on a complete non-interference of the members of the Executive in the selection process of Presiding Officers of the two Chambers of the National Assembly scheduled for sometime in June this year.
Speaking to selected media men at the National Assembly Complex, Tuesday, in Abuja, National Coordinator of the group, Prince Sunny Anderson Osiebe, said he was particularly impressed with the President -Elect for choosing to see reason not to want to foist anyone on either the Senate or the House of Representatives during the leadership selection process. He said such a practice by some elected Nigerian leaders in the past eras always ended up overheating the Parliament and causing bad blood and disaffection among lawmakers early in the tenures of such Parliaments.
Osiebe noted that the Parliament, which is the nucleus of democratic governance in all leadership structures across the globe, has not been able to develop fully over twenty years since the onset of the 4th Republic due largely to the degree of interference from various meddlesome members of the Executive since 1999. He stressed that, unless and until the freedom of the various arms of Government is fully engendered and allowed to uninhibitedly thrive in the Nigerian democratic experience, the all-needed quest for developing strong institutions as against strong men in our nation and, indeed, Africa, will continue to elude our reach.
While advising members of the incoming 10th Assembly to be wary of colleagues who run to the Executive for every kind of advice on how to go about their activities in Parliament, the Delta-born parliamentary rights activist added that, it was only a Member of Parliament that does not appreciate the enormity of the power his position wields that would allow members of the Executive to use him as a pawn on the chessboard of national politics against his very own colleagues.
Osiebe, who expressed optimism that the 10th National Assembly would fare well, in spite of its diversity, said the political plurality and the rich diverse professional bents of its members, suggested a pan-Nigerian legislative house where the people’s will and voice will always rise above the consideration of political affiliation, religion and other narrow-minded ideals;one which a few years from now, he said, would contribute immensely to deepening the nation’s democratic culture through the effective development of that arm of government.
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