Chief Samuel Onuigbo, a former member of House of Representatives, says in spite of challenges Nigeria has turned the curve in pursuit of good governance through a democratic government.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday that the country was fine-tuning its democratic skills and learning from past mistakes.
He spoke against the backdrop of 25 years of interrupted democracy and the annulled watershed June 12 1993 presidential election which birthed the present democratic dispensation.
Onuigbo is a member of the Board of the North East Development Commission representing the South East.
“For instance, the judiciary was dormant during the military rule, same as the legislature, which is the first victim of military intervention.
“Also, there has been an improvement in the running of a unified local government system. Yes, there are challenges in the areas of autonomy, elections and fiscal allocation.
“Hopefully, we will have a local government system that functions and serves the wishes and aspirations of people at the grassroots.
“After a quarter of a century of unbroken democracy, agitations such as resource control and true federalism persist among Nigerians“ he said.
Onuigbo, who sponsored the Climate Change Act, said recent agitations for restructuring were part of the democratic process.
He said such agitations will not go away because they reflect inconsistencies in sub-national governments which compel the citizens to demand what they considered fairness and equity.
“What I can tell you is that democracy is a work in progress. The aim is to achieve and attain good governance for everybody.
“During military rule, politicians are forced to leave. So, the task of protecting our democratic process is for everybody.
“Those who are looking up to our leaders should also support the system and help us to continue to build,” he said.
On whether the legislative arm of government sometimes acts as an appendage of the executive, Onuigbo said the independence of the legislature was guaranteed.
However, he said collaboration and partnership with the executive was important for dividends of democracy to be delivered to the people.
He also told NAN that there were misconceptions about the budgetary allocation to the legislature.
He attributed it to prolonged military rule during which the legislature was a major casualty.
He said, for years during military rule before the return to democracy in 1999, there was no proper development for the law-making arm of the government.
“There was no structure, no legislative institutions; no commission, no library, no institute for legislative studies, and so on.
“Remember that the National Assembly is an arm of government, not a department of the executive.
“If you compare the budget of NASS to that of only one ministry, which is not an arm of the government, people won’t be scrutinizing the budget of NASS as they are doing now.
“It is up to the media to educate the people on this misunderstanding, because this is what we need to explain,” he said.
He said the legislature, as an arm of government, was still growing after disruptions during the military.
On the calls in some quarters to the adoption of unicameral legislature as against the current practice of bicameral legislature, as a cost-saving measure, Onuigbo said the main issue was the type of legislature in use.
He said the most important thing was to ensure that the best hands were elected to represent the people and that the legislatures should deliver on their responsibilities.
“If their people deem them fit to represent them, then it should be an honour to serve on a part-time basis.
“When someone is called upon to serve, it is expected that such a person goes there with ideas, policies and ways to help his or her people,” he said. (NAN)
