New Telegraph

Pesidential system has failed Nigeria-Victor Attah

Former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah has recommended a return to parliamentary system of government for Nigeria, saying that the presidential system of government has failed the country. Attah, who was a guest on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Friday, which was monitored by Saturday Telegraph, recalled that the people of the grassroots had a better participation in governance, when the nation practised parliamentary system of government from 1969 to 1966. The former governor gave an instance of United Kingdom, where he said a prime minister was sent away over a critical issue compared to the United States of America (USA), where he said a president was impeached, but he didn’t have to leave office because the Senate didn’t approve it.

“That is why the presidential system of government is not ideal like the parliamentary system. Look at what happened during the era of Tafawa Balewa as Prime Minister, he was elected by the people before he became the Prime Minister. “Look at what is happening today, somebody is buying presidential form because the president asked him to buy the form, another one is picking form because someone or some groups of people bought the form for him.

“Nobody is taking about the electorate. If you have a parliamentary system of government, we will come together and the prime minister will emerge that is the beauty of parliamentary system of government and all these money; N100million or whatever doesn’t happen,” he said. While throwing his weight behind restructuring, Attah, who was governor from 1999 to 2007, said that the people in power are bringing restructuring through the back door, and that the country was wrong about centralising the police, and called for the introduction of state police.

He urged the nation to restructure once and for all and bring everything to an end, while also pleading that the next national assembly must come with a new mindset and not with the old system. “They must come with a system that will be inclusive. A system that people would not be complaining about marginalisation, you can imagine someone saying I am not from the West, but I am from Ogun State. How far do we want go before we realise that we have destroyed the country,” he said.

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